By Stephen Hemelt
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Roger Mooking’s goal on the Cooking Channel’s Man Fire Food is to feature all the inventive ways people cook with fire.

He got more than a good meal when he filmed an episode in LaPlace, one that is set to air at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Mooking and his team spent the better part of two days at Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse and Restaurant on 769 W. 5th Street, learning the craft behind the amazing smoked sausages, tasso and andouille the LaPlace mainstay is known for serving.

“We learned how to cook in the smokehouses in the back,” Mooking said. “It’s just good, honest, down-home food from that region. (David Rauch) doesn’t do anything outside of what that region is known and loved for, and he does it really well.”

Mooking said the specific smokehouses at the restaurant operate for convenience and functionality.

“(Rauch) has a gas line that runs and feeds his fire,” Mooking said. “It’s a sheltered environment so he can control it in any weather. He can produce a lot of different stuff. We did tasso (and) regular sausage. He has a dedication to doing those things, and it turns our really good.”

Rauch, owner and butcher at the restaurant, said he was excited the cable channel chose his location for the episode.

“They called me up to see if I was interested,” said Rauch, who has been affiliated with the restaurant for 13 years. “They asked me a few questions, and lo and behold they came by and did a great job.”

Rauch said he was nervous the first five minutes of filming but was put at the ease by Mooking and his experienced team.

Man Fire Food, which is in its third season, seeks to go beyond the traditional roles of fire cooking, which many only identify with backyard barbecues.

“Truth be told, now in three seasons, we have yet to cook one hamburger or one hotdog,” Mooking said. “We do smoking. We do fish bakes. We do clam bakes. We do lobster. We just try to make people realize there is stuff that goes way beyond hamburgers and hotdogs.

“I have seen things I would never have imagined, just in terms of the contraptions and dedication that people have for making these foods with fire. Some of the techniques really blew my mind.”

Rauch said he is really excited to see Tuesday’s episode, which he hopes will generate more business at the restaurant.

“It will show people how it’s really done,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know how long it takes to cook this great food we have down here.

“I’m more passionate now (than I was when I started). It is an art. Smoking is an art. It’s not something that turns out the same everyday.

“I’m still learning. You never know everything.”