23 Facts About Paul Prudhomme

Paul Prudhomme was the chef proprietor of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans, and had formerly owned and run several other restaurants.

Paul Prudhomme developed several culinary products, including hot sauce and seasoning mixes, and wrote 11 cookbooks.

Paul Prudhomme's father was a farmer, who struggled financially during Prudhomme's childhood, and his mother was a creative cook.

Previously named after Saint Paul, as chosen by a Catholic priest, Prudhomme adopted the pseudonym "Gene Autry Prudhomme" during his youth.

Paul Prudhomme opened his first restaurant in Opelousas in 1957, a hamburger restaurant called Big Daddy O's Patio.

Paul Prudhomme became a magazine seller initially in New Orleans, and afterwards several restaurant jobs took him around the country.

Paul Prudhomme soon left to open Clarence Dupuy's restaurant Maison du Puy.

In 1975, Paul Prudhomme left to become the first American-born executive chef at Commander's Palace under Richard Brennan, Sr.

Chef Paul Prudhomme turned the Garden District restaurant into a world-class destination.

The restaurant was named as a portmanteau of their names, with Paul Prudhomme working as head chef and Kay as restaurant manager.

In 1980, Paul Prudhomme was made a Chevalier of the French Ordre National du Merite Agricole in honor of his work with Cajun and Creole cuisines.

Paul Prudhomme has been credited with having popularized cajun cuisine and in particular blackened redfish during the 1980s.

Paul Prudhomme was credited with introducing the turducken into American cuisine.

Paul Prudhomme ignored the order and opened the restaurant anyway, resulting in the Board of Health threatening him with jail time if he continued to operate the restaurant.

Four years later, Paul Prudhomme opened a permanent restaurant in New York City at 622 Broadway, which had queues of up to two hours.

Paul Prudhomme later released a press statement saying that he had forgotten it was in the bag.

Paul Prudhomme made a guest appearance at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, France, in October 1994.

Paul Prudhomme died seven years later on December 31,1993.

Paul Prudhomme had a long-running issue with his weight, resulting in his working from an electric wheelchair on occasion.

Paul Prudhomme deliberately avoided marketing it as a low-fat cookbook in order to prevent customers from being put off by the premise after testing the recipes at K-Paul's Kitchen in New Orleans.

Paul Prudhomme died in New Orleans on October 8,2015, after a brief illness.

Paul Prudhomme made five seasons of cooking shows for New Orleans' PBS affiliate WYES-TV.

Prudhomme hosted short segments called The Magic of Chef Paul which were syndicated to news stations across the country.