Paul Prudhomme, the Opelousas native who made Louisiana cuisine attractive and in demand around the globe, died this morning. He was 75. Tiffanie Roppolo, the CFO of Prudhomme’s businesses, tells The Associated Press that he died following a brief illness.
“He was always on a mission, and nothing was impossible for Paul. He did things his way and let the food speak for itself,” chef Frank Brigtsen, who worked for Prudhomme for seven years, tells The AP. “He changed the way we eat in New Orleans in a major way, by bringing Acadian or Cajun cuisine to the restaurants of the city.”
Prudhomme was raised by his sharecropper parents on a farm near Opelousas, in Louisiana’s Acadiana region. The youngest of 13 children, he spent much of his time in the kitchen with his mother, whom he credited for developing his appreciation of rich flavors and the fresh vegetables, poultry and seafood that she cooked.
Prudhomme gained fame as the head chef of Commander’s Palace in the mid-1970s before leaving to open K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, WWL-TV reports. He revolutionized Cajun and creole cuisine with his signature blackened redfish dish that burst onto the national stage in 1983 when Prudhomme prepared it for world leaders at an economic summit.
“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, another well-known chef in south Louisiana, tells Daily Report.
“Without Paul Prudhomme, John Folse wouldn’t exist,” Folse adds. “He really opened the door in a big way for the rest of us to follow.”
Besides the restaurant, Prudhomme also developed his Magic Seasoning blends and authored several cookbooks.
Folse described his longtime friend Prudhomme as gracious and humble, as well as a masterful storyteller who could infuse his stories with the same passion he brought to cooking. Both men rose to prominence in the 1980s.
The Opelousas native’s impact could never be described in dollars or publicity, Folse says, but in the impact he had globally on Louisiana cuisine and the chefs who have followed in his footsteps.
Read the full story by The Associated Press.
