PAUL PRUDHOMME

'Paul Prudhomme' (born July 13, 1940) is an American chef famous for his Cajun cuisine.
The youngest of thirteen children, Prudhomme was reared on a farm near Opelousas, the seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. Members of his family had been active as cooks and in the restaurant business in and around Lafayette, Louisiana. In 1979, he and his late wife, Kay Hinrichs Prudhomme, opened K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen® in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In the early-1980s, the restaurant made the dish of ''blackened redfish'' famous. Once considered poor table fare, this fish gained popularity, due largely to the Cajun specialty dish that he created. Redfish were harvested in great numbers until stocks were dangerously low. Various state and federal wildlife agencies and conservation groups began a concerted effort to restore redfish populations, limiting it to sports fish status in almost all coastal states, and regulating other harvests. Redfish numbers have since recovered, making them one of the most targeted saltwater game fish in the U.S.
Prudhomme has been a key figure in taking Cajun cooking from a style little known outside of the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana and propelling it to national fame. He is the creator of seasonings such as Meat Magic, Vegetable Magic, and Poultry Magic. He is sometimes credited with having invented the turducken, though this has not been verified.
In 1995, ABC News, in its report on the nutria (coypu) infestation in Louisiana, stated that Prudhomme bought 20,000 such carcasses, freezing them in the hopes of later selling them as cooked dishes to patrons. That effort failed to attract any significant number of patrons.
Dom DeLuise is sometimes confused for the Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme. Both have a similar body shape and enjoy cooking. They both often wear "newsboy"-style cloth caps and beards.

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External links

External links

★ K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen

★ Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends

★ "The Natural" 2005 Times-Picayune article on Prudhomme

★ Quotes by and about Prudhomme