Known for bringing Cajun and Creole cuisines into the American mainstream, beloved chef Paul Prudhomme died on Oct. 8 at 75 after a brief illness.
When the culinary icon first stepped into the kitchen of New Orleans’ Commander’s Palace in 1975, the Garden District restaurant was failing and Cajun cuisine was relatively unknown to the rest of the country.
Prudhomme himself had seen ups and downs in his cooking career before joining the restaurant, with a failed first restaurant as a teenager but successful stints at the Le Pavillon Hotel and the Maison Dupuy Hotel. Before long, Prudhomme had made Commander’s Palace into the international legend it is today, opened K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter and hired a young Emeril Lagasse for his kitchen.
|
|
|
The Opelousas native turned his restaurant triumphs into the nation’s new favorite cuisine in 1984 with the release of his cookbook, Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, which won a Culinary Classic Book Award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 1989. Throughout the ’80s, Prudhomme’s down-home friendliness, cookbooks and skill at the stove helped America fall in love with Louisiana cooking.
“His restaurant K-Paul’s and his books were absolutely brilliant and always an inspiration to me,” said Emeril Lagasse, as reported by Gambit Weekly. “Paul was a mentor, friend, pioneer and world ambassador to Louisiana that will be dearly missed, not only in New Orleans but in American cuisine.”
After his ’80s heyday, Prudhomme brought his total of published cookbooks up to 11, starred in five seasons of cooking television shows on local New Orleans broadcasting, launched his range of Chef Paul Prudhomme Magic Seasoning Blends, cooked for military and displaced locals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and helped Louisiana chefs break into the culinary world.
|
|
|
“All Louisiana chefs, especially those associated with Cajun and Creole, those of us in the River Parishes, those of us in Acadiana, the reason we’re here and the reason we’re associated with the Cajun culture is no doubt due to Chef Paul Prudhomme,” Chef John Folse told Daily Report. “Without Paul Prudhomme, John Folse wouldn’t exist. He really opened the door in a big way for the rest of us to follow.”
Prudhomme will be remembered not only by fellow chefs and foodies, but by a state whose culture is now celebrated globally thanks to his lifelong dedication and passion.
“K-Paul was an internationally-renowned chef and a New Orleans legend that represented and popularized Louisiana’s authenticity and culture,” New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement released on the day of Prudhomme’s death. “He was an innovator that inspired countless professional chefs and the millions at home who watched him on television. I am confident that his influence and legacy will continue through those who knew him best.”