Paul Prudhomme, 75; chef popularized Cajun cuisine

NEW ORLEANS - Paul Prudhomme, 75, the Cajun who popularized spicy Louisiana cuisine and became one of the first American restaurant chefs to achieve worldwide fame, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to Tiffanie Roppolo, chief financial officer of Mr. Prudhomme's businesses.

Mr. 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 Mr. 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."

Mr. 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 Mr. Prudhomme lamented over customers who stopped ordering the traditional Cajun dishes that he loved.

Mr. 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 he 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.

He and his wife, Kay, opened K-Paul's four years later. It was inexpensive and unassuming, but was soon the most popular restaurant in New Orleans. His wife died in 1993.

In the 1980s, Mr. Prudhomme's bearded face and oversized frame became familiar on television talk shows, 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 hit in 2005, 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 & Beverage Museum.

Mr. Prudhomme's weight, as much as his cooking skills, was a career trademark. In the 1992 interview, he said he was working on ways to take the fat out of recipes without losing the flavor.

During a 2013 cooking demonstration in New Orleans, Mr. Prudhomme - who was just over 5 feet tall and usually moved in a scooter instead of walking - told the crowd that at one time he was 580 pounds but was down to 200. Eating the right things and eating less made the difference, he said.