RIP Paul Prudhomme

[Stewie]

The man who made blackened fish (and meat) popular and invented the turducken.

NEW ORLEANS


Paul Prudhomme, the Cajun who popularized spicy Louisiana cuisine and became one of the first American restaurant chefs to achieve worldwide fame, died Thursday. He was 75.

Tiffanie Roppolo, the CFO of Prudhomme's businesses, told The Associated Press that he died early Thursday after a brief illness.

Prudhomme became prominent in the early 1980s, soon after opening K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, a French Quarter diner that served the meals of his childhood. He had no formal training, but sparked a nationwide interest in Cajun food by serving dishes — gumbo, etouffee and jambalaya — that were virtually unknown outside Louisiana.

The distinctly American chef became a sensation at a time when the country's top restaurants served virtually nothing but European food.

"He was always on a mission and nothing was impossible for Paul. He did things his way and let the food speak for itself," said chef Frank Brigtsen, who worked for Prudhomme for seven years. "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 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. Blackened redfish became so popular that Prudhomme lamented over customers who stopped ordering the traditional Cajun dishes that he loved.

"We had all this wonderful food, we raised our own rabbit and duck, and all anyone wanted was blackened redfish," he said in a 1992 interview.

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.

"With her I began to understand about seasoning, about blending taste, about cooking so things were worth eating," he said.

After high school Prudhomme traveled 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 and his wife opened K-Paul's four years later.

K-Paul's was inexpensive and unassuming — formica tables, plywood walls and drinks served in jars — but it was soon the most popular restaurant in New Orleans.

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 expanded K-Paul's and turned it into an upscale operation. 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, said Liz Williams, who heads the city's Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

Prudhomme's success brought regrets, as well. Prudhomme sparked the Cajun food craze, but he often said few Cajun restaurants outside Louisiana served the real thing. He worried over the common perception that all Cajun food is blistering hot.

"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."

Prudhomme's weight, as much as his cooking skills, was a career trademark. Just over 5 feet tall, he had trouble squeezing into chairs. He had a bad knee, used a cane and usually moved in a scooter instead of walking. In the 1992 interview he said he was working on ways to take the fat out of recipes without losing the flavor.

But later in his career he significantly slimmed down. During a 2013 cooking demonstration in New Orleans — done from his motorized scooter — he told the crowd that at one time he was 580 pounds but now weighed in at 200 pounds.

[New World Order]

John Madden is sad

[Prison Bitch]

RIP whoever u are

[siberian khatru]

Paul "The Snake" Prudhomme

[Bob Dole]

Originally Posted by New World Order

John Madden is sad

As should be anyone that enjoys Cajun cookin'.

[FlaChief58]

His blackend seafood seasoning it the shit. RIP

[KChiefs1]

I thought this was about Remi Prudhomme.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

RIP whoever u are

This guy and I have that book that I have tried to recreate his recipe. I use his magic spices that are pricey and increasingly harder to find. I always thought he was Dom Delouis till I seen him on a cooking show. RIP will be some yummy Cajun eating in heaven soon.

[Halfcan]

RIP to a Great American Chef.

I love Cajun food and make the best Creole in the city. It is pricey to make and usually only do it for special occasions.

I got my recipes from a little place in Shreveport we used to go to back in the day. It was an old gas station turned into a restaurant. They had the best Cajun food I have ever had.

They showed me the difference between Spicy hot and Flavor hot.

[KCFalcon59]

The fact he made it to 75 is amazing. RIP big guy!

[TribalElder]

Originally Posted by srvy

Sausage

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by KCFalcon59

The fact he made it to 75 is amazing. RIP big guy!

This.

A friend of mine has that book and I'm here to tell you; buy a ****ing dairy cause' you'll be needing your own butter factory.

[threebag]

RIP

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Paul "The Snake" Prudhomme

that's exactly who I thought of when reading the thread title.

[Demonpenz]

Saw him in thr finals against Bob glutton in thr ford thunderbird funny car nitro thunder series in 1988. Fall brawl is when The Snake really nailed thr Christmas tree for his 3rd ihra title.