Welcome to New Orleans!! And welcome to our tour.! Your hosts, Naif and Sandy Shahady, are locals, and love our quirky and historic city.
Naif was born in Cajun country – Crowley, LA – Rice capital of the world! He spent his early childhood years eagerly exploring the local bayous and swamps. A young boy’s dream! Subsequently, the family moved to Reserve, a small Louisiana town alongside the Mississippi River. There, he and his buddies camped, hunted, built bonfires, swam and fished.
Naif’s mother loved to cook, and Naif enjoyed being at her side. She taught him to cook such things as red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etoufee, and more. He still cooks today, in memory of her.
Sandy is Naif’s sidekick and helpmate. She eats the food he cooks, and says thank you! Her upbringing was not as colorful as Naif’s, but she has made up for it by having entreated Naif to get a teaching job with the Department of Defense Dependents’ schools. He was posted to Tokyo, Japan for 10 years, where Sandy studied the Japanese language and taught English to the locals. They also lived in Naples, Italy for two years. They became world travelers, and loved every minute of it. Upon retirement, they came back to their beloved home, New Orleans, and became tour guides. And great tour guides, I might add! New Orleans culture, history and food pathways are fascinating! They are now the happy new owners of New Orleans Culinary History Tours, and look forward to hosting you soon!