New Orleans native Kinzie Faulk is the frenetic, smiling force behind King Creole Lousiana Gumbo and BBQ. You’ll see him working both the cash register and the stove seven days a week, always in his chef’s hat and often with his Bluetooth headset affixed to his left ear. Faulk started King Creole in 2000 as a catering business, and for years shipped his gumbo to Southern states and around the world. He’s suspended shipments to focus on King Creole’s brick and mortar location, which turns one year old next month. In early fall, Faulk is bringing up a crew of cooks from New Orleans to help him launch a new Southern Food line, which will offer lower-priced fare like stuffed bell peppers, stuffed mirliton (chayote squash), cornbread dressing, and smothered chicken and pork chops.Faulk invites me to step into his office for our interview, which means sitting on a red vinyl stool in the kitchen and chatting with him while does the following: chop cabbage, roll out cobbler dough, stir roux for a pot of gumbo, and have a conversation with Otis, one of his meat vendors, who has stopped by to say hi.Voracious: What is your favorite ingredient?Faulk: Crab meat. Definitely crab meat. What does it say about your cooking?Well, crab meat say a whole lot. Because it’s the most expensive. It says a lot about the quality of food I’m cooking here. Is there a dish you think everyone should make?Cajun red beans and rice. What was your favorite dish as a child? (Grins.) Cajun red beans and rice. Well, that figures. Who made it for you?My Auntie. Oh, I’d be at her house everyday for that red beans and rice. Hers were out of this world.What made them so good?Man, I wish I knew. I’ve been making red beans and rice for a long time now, but I still can’t get ahold of what she did to make that dish so good. Do you cook at home? Our kitchen is so clean you could sleep in it. Who do you most want to cook for?(Thinks for a long time, while rolling out dough, then wags finger at me.) Ooh, now that’s a good one. I really never sat long enough to think about that. If I had to answer that right this minute honestly, I’d say more customers. Just more people. Nothing wrong with an honest answer. I am serious. I take samples of my food wherever I go, and I make people taste it. That’s my passion–to see people enjoy my food. I love to just see the expression on their faces when they taste it.