Meet Lori Prudhomme
We send our deepest condolences to Lori Prudhomme, who is the wife of world famous chef and restaurateur, Paul Prudhomme. Her decorated chef husband has died at age 75.
Recent reports say Paul Prudhomme has died in Louisiana after a short illness.
Paul became a celebrity chef when there were few of them! He was the man in charge of popularizing the Cajun and Creole cuisine. He is described as the chef who brought new life to the cooking style and as a result created a cooking craze in the 1980s.
According to his website, the Opelousas, Louisiana, native came from a big family. He was the youngest of 13 children.
Paul Prudhomme gained notoriety while working as the chef at Commander’s Palace in in New Orleans. He revolutionized Creole cuisine and made the landmark restaurant a national treasure.
Prudhomme is survived by his wife of five-years, Lori Prudhomme.
Paul was previously married to Kay Hinrichs (pictured below).
K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen restaurant –which opened in the French Quarter in 1979 -was named after her and his name. At the time Paul worked as head chef and Kay as restaurant manager. Kay Hinrichs died in 1993 after a 7-year battle with cancer.
77-year-old Lori Prudhomme was born Lori Bennett. She and Paul became man and wife in 2010, they tied the knot in Las Vegas.
Lori’s husband struggled for many years with his weight which prompted him to work from an electric wheelchair at times. Paul also hosted several cooking shows and authored nine cookbooks, some of them bestsellers.
One of his most popular recipes is the one for blackened redfish. The recipe, first served at K-Paul’s, got so much hype that state fisheries officials had to impose limits to save the species from overfishing! He also created and marketed a successful line of seasonings sold in groceries nationwide.
Many have taken to Twitter to share their condolences on his death, Commander’s Palace tweeted that its staff was saddened by the news.
CNN reports, New Orleans Times-Picayune food editor Judy Walker called Prudhomme a “legend” who “changed New Orleans food forever.”
