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In this episode of Confetti Park, Katy Hobgood Ray interviews\\xa0Kid Chef Eliana\\xa0de Las Casas, a New Orleans-based chef who is seriously one of the hardest-working kids around.

Eliana has been cooking since she was four years old! Her interested hasn\'t waned over the years\\xa0from those early days of watching her family elders make food in the kitchen.\\xa0Now at 16 years old, Eliana\\xa0has bloomed as a chef,\\xa0as an entrepreneur, as a cookbook author and as a culinary personality.

Eliana was born in Gretna and has a whole lot of cultural influences driving her style. She describes herself as a gumbo of\\xa0Filipino, Cajun, Honduran, and Cuban.

"My whole family taught me how to cook, everyone. We always loved being in the kitchen together and having huge family gatherings," says Eliana. "There would just be all kinds of different dishes at the table. I never wanted to leave the kitchen! I was never the kid to ask for toys. I always wanted something kitchen-related."

Eliana\\u2019s mom is notable Louisiana children\'s author Dianne de las Casas, and she encouraged Eliana to start a food blog when Eliana was touring with her at book signings around Louisiana. From there, Eliana\'s abilities as a media mogul too grew! Soon Eliana was doing cooking tutorials for kids on Youtube, and before long she declared her intention to publish a cook book. She was only ten years old when her first cookbook came out; today Eliana has three published cookbooks:\\xa0Cool Kids Cook: Fresh & Fit,\\xa0Cool Kids Cook: Louisiana, and\\xa0Eliana Cooks: Recipes for Creative Kids.\\xa0

In this interview, Katy and Eliana dive deep into Eliana\\u2019s early inspirations and her current aspirations, which include launching her own line of spices. They also talk about some of Eliana\\u2019s adult mentors, such as\\xa0New Orleans-based chefs\\xa0Tory McPhail (Commander\\u2019s Palace), Chef Adolfo Garcia (Primitivo, RioMar) and Chef Ryan Hughes (Purloo).

Today Eliana is a full-time student at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.\\xa0She takes traditional academic classes in the morning, and in the afternoon, she studies in a culinary arts program funded by the\\xa0Emeril Lagasse Foundation. She is also a radio host!\\xa0Every Friday at 6pm CT, listen to Kid Chef Eliana\\u2019s weekly radio show, Let\\u2019s Get Cookin\\u2019, on 102.3 FM WHIV.

Learn more at\\xa0http://www.kidchefeliana.com

The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by theNew Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Music Rising at Tulane University, and OffBeat Magazine.