Chef Paul Prudhomme dies at 75

Celebrated Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme, who helped popularize Cajun and Creole cooking in the United States and around the world, has died at age of 75, a representative from his restaurant in New Orleans said on Thursday.

Prudhomme and his late wife Kay Hinrichs Prudhomme opened their famed restaurant K-Pauls in New Orleans’ French Quarter in 1979, four years after he became executive chef at Commanders Palace.

Chef Paul Prudhomme, owner of K-Paul’s Louisiana kitchen, has died…

See the full WWL story here. K-Paul’s also was famous for its eccentricities: no reservations, no substitutions and diners who cleaned their plates received gold stars. Prudhomme is survived by his widow, Lori Bennett. Prudhomme is also credited with introducing the turducken poultry dish, now a mainstay. For a while, lines stretched down Chartres Street with locals and tourists waiting to get in.

“He was well loved”, the restaurant said. “He grew up in a large, poor Cajun family and turned himself into a world-class chef”. My mother would put me on a wooden box at the stove and tell me to call her if certain things would happen. A few people absorb in different ways. Prudhomme then moved to New Orleans, taking odd jobs in restaurants here and elsewhere. The success of his cookbook and restaurant made him a celebrity chef, which led to appearances on television and his food products line.

During his time at Commander’s Palace, Prudhomme hired a young Emeril Lagasse to work in the kitchen. In 1983, he launched the Paul Prudhomme’s Cajun Magic Seasoning Blends brand of spices.