Chef Paul Prudhomme has passed away

Damn RIP Paul.

Damn. He's a legend.

Louisiana's original celebrity chef. Dude knew his shite though.

Really sorry to hear this. The guy was gold for Louisiana and a genius with spices and flavor-building. RIP, Paul.

Shitty arse NOLA.com doesn't even have anything up on this yet.

Front page of The Advocate. RIP Paul

So so sorry to read this. He was definitely a legend in his own time and a real contributor to Louisiana cuisine, culture and good will. Gosh, he's gone far too soon for me. Rest in peace, Chef Paul.

RIP.

I actually have a cool Paul Prudhomme story. Towards the end of 2000 my dad was losing his battle with pancreatic cancer and we were going to, helping out with and/or participating in a lot of cancer fundraisers. Paul Prudhomme was a celebrity waiter at an event and he had our table. He couldn't walk around so he would move his chair from table to table as the food came out. It was just my dad and I at a small table in a room full of hundreds of tables. He took the time to talk to my dad and I and really made it feel like he gave a shite. He and my dad were around the same age so they talked a good bit about old New Orleans restaurants, crooked city officials, etc. When it was over he gave my dad a gift bag and had his card in it. On the back he wrote his direct line and told my dad to call anytime if he ever just wanted to chat. Well, my dad called him twice between November and January and had 2 pretty lengthy conversations. In February of 2001 my dad passed away and there was a big red rose arrangement next to his casket from Paul Prudhomme in the shape of a red fish. Complete with that unmistakable black dot on the tail. Apparently my dad told him in their conversations that red fish cooked anyway was his favorite thing to eat. It was genuinely one of the nicest things I've ever seen. Paul Prudhomme will always hold an extra special place in my heart. The world lost a good man.

An amazing story. Thanks for sharing it.
Losing a legend is always hard, this one is tough. I grew up with him being a local rockstar and I can remember each time seeing him out and about throughout my life. Saturday morning cooking shows will be a little sadder knowing he is not around. Sad, sad day.