Frank Davis is a notable and highly recognized New Orleans "character" whose effervescent personality and love for this city is contagious.

At this point, Davis considers himself blessed that he has been able to combine his three loves--fishing, cooking, and people--and get paid for it. ``I have a lot of fun doing what I do,’’ said the resident chef and outdoors director for WWL-TV in New Orleans (CBS). ``I like to express that fun to everybody else as well.’’

Make no mistake, others pick up on Davis’s attitude loud and clear. Co-workers speak with amazement of conversations Davis has had with fellow motorists on the Louisiana Interstates. It is not uncommon for drivers to pull alongside Davis, roll down their windows, and hold conversations about fishing or cooking or the latest happenings in the area--and all at 55 miles per hour!

The oldest of three children, Davis was first assigned kitchen duty when he was seven. ``I was the first one home from school in the afternoon, and my dad asked me to help fix supper one evening,’’ Davis said.

The first week, he said he cooked red beans and rice. ``At the end of the week, Dad said America didn’t need that much gas.’’ The second week he prepared eggs. ``Then Dad said he didn’t need that much cholesterol.’’ That was when Davis’s experimentation in the kitchen began.

``I thoroughly enjoy everything I do,’’ Davis said, ``and I have been able to parlay my two loves, fishing and cooking, into a career.’’

A naturalist at heart, Davis has always been a writer, ceaseless promoter of Louisiana wildlife, and a nonstop talker. In addition to his WWL-TV spots, Davis currently hosts a weekly award-winning three-hour cooking show and does daily programs on outdoors, fishing, and other recreation attractions of the Crescent City.

In the kitchen, Davis has worked with some of New Orleans’ most respected chefs--Paul Prudhomme, John Levy, Louis Evans, the late Austin Leslie, Frank Sclafani, John Folse, Alex Patout, Goffredo Fraccaro, Chris Kerageorgiou, Tommy Wong, the late Justin Wilson, Alan Little, and countless others.  He formerly taught in his own cooking school prior to Hurricane Katrina.  His company, Frank Davis Foods, produces a complete line of spices and seasonings.

Currently a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and president of Frank Davis Productions, Inc., Frank is a past president of the Louisiana Outdoors Writers Association of America and the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association. He has worked as a consultant to National Geographic, as Louisiana editor of Outdoor Life, outdoors editor-in-chief of Louisiana Woods and Water Magazine, and has contributed to dozens of local and national publications. He was also public informamtion coordinator for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and associate editor of the Louisiana Conservationist magazine.

It was not until Davis moved from print journalism to radio that he truly showcased his expertise in cooking. ``I had been fishing since I was five and always cooked whatever I caught,’’ he explained. ``In discussing where and how to catch a certain fish while I was on the air, I would sprinkle in cooking tips about how to prepare that type of fish.  It got great listener response.’’

Davis’s cookbooks are unlike any other, he contends, in that they deal with realities. ``I despise the typical cookbook from the word `go,’ he said. ``Typical cookbooks assume everyone is a bumbling idiot who cannot read a complete sentence.’’ In his colorful conversational N’Awlins accent, Davis explicitly narrates each recipe, as if he were standing right beside you. ``Everybody can follow what to do with descriptions like this,’’ he said. ``It is like having a cooking class in writing.’’