Culinary legend Paul Prudhomme introduced world to Cajun cuisine
NEW ORLEANS — At K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen during the early 1980s, chef and owner Paul Prudhomme would drive to his hometown near Opelousas in his pickup truck and come back loaded down with supplies reflecting his native Cajun cuisine.
“The way Paul approached everything was to try to make things more local, more regional, fresher, cooked to order,” said chef Frank Brigtsen, who worked for Prudhomme for seven years. “At the time all those concepts were fresh and new. Now we all cook that way.”
Prudhomme died Oct. 8, after a brief illness, according to Tiffanie Roppolo, the CFO of Prudhomme’s businesses. Born on July 13, 1940, he was 75.
Prudhomme was known for his innovations. His most famous dishes used the technique he called blackening: fish or meat covered with spices, then seared until black in a white-hot skillet.
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 flavours and the fresh vegetables, poultry and seafood that she cooked.
After high school Prudhomme travelled the country cooking in bars, diners, resorts and hotel restaurants.
He returned to New Orleans in the early 1970s and found a job as chef in a hotel restaurant. In 1975, he became the head chef at the esteemed Commander’s Palace restaurant.
Prudhomme’s bearded face and oversized frame became familiar on television talk shows in the 1980s, where he encouraged Americans to spice up their meals. He published bestselling cookbooks and created a business that sold his spicy seasoning mixtures around the country.
After Hurricane Katrina he used the profits from his spice company to keep his restaurant afloat, bringing in trailers to the parking lot for his staff to live in and cooking thousands of meals for rescue workers.
Prudhomme’s success brought regrets. “I’m at least partly to blame that so many people think all Cajun food is red-hot and spicy,” he said. “I see people dumping red pepper on food and I feel like crying.”