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Summer 2026—February 2027
2026 SFA Film Residency, with multi-city in-person experiences and monthly virtual workshops ⟶

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

< Back to Oral History project: Southern Baking

< Back to Oral History project: Parish Epiphany: King Cake Bakers of South Louisiana

ORAL HISTORY

Moeko Glynn

Maru Bread Company

A native of Togichi Prefecture, Moekoe lived in Japan until her mid–twenties, when her love for American music led her to move to the United States to learn English and attend concerts. As a Smashing Pumpkins fan, she attended the annual New Orleans Voodoo Music Festival, where she met her future husband, a Baton Rouge native.

Moeko is a self–taught chef who relies on both the local library and a huge community of Instagram cottage bakers in order to perfect her craft. Through social media she promotes her weekly pastry boxes, pop–ups, and seasonal specialities. When king cake season rolls around, she offers a wildly popular French king cake. The Japanese word Maru translates to “circle” in English, referring to the ever–widening circle of relationships she has been able to form through her baking.

Date of interview:
2022-04-20

Interviewer:
Phillip Norman

Photographer:
Emily R. Williams

Download Transcript

“

"I don’t have to make it bigger. I don’t have to be like a famous bakery. I’m doing this–first of all, I like baking, and also I gotta make money, and to keep, I don’t know, my self esteem. I want to do something to connect with people." - Moeko Glynn

Other Project Interviews

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Carla Briggs

Carla Briggs runs Viola’s Heritage Breads in her hometown of New Orleans, LA.

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Huong Tran is co-founder of Dong Phuong Bakery in New Orleans East.

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Linh Garza

Linh Garza is President of Dong Phuong Bakery in New Orleans East, Louisiana.

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Isaac Fort

Isaac Fort is the pastry chef at Poupart’s in Lafayette, Louisiana.

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Norma Castillo

Norma Castillo is the founder of Norma’s International Foods, a popular Latin grocery store in Kenner, Louisiana, with a sister location, Norma’s Sweets Bakery, in New Orleans.

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José Castillo

José Castillo is one of the owner-operators of Norma’s Sweets Bakery in New Orleans.

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Kirby Jones

Kirby Jones owns and operates La Vie En Rose Café in New Orleans’ Lower Garden District.

Interview

Robert Carriker

Robert Carriker is a professor of history at University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a public historian focusing on Louisiana food cultures.

Interview

Shane Castille

Shane Castille is the owner/operator of Thee Heavenly Doughnut in Baton Rouge, a local chain founded by his wife Kara and her mother, Catherine Estillete.

Interview

Melodie Reay

Melodie Reay is a maker who primarily works with dough and clay.

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The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

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