Person in history

Paul Prudhomme

Paul Prudhomme, American chef and author (born 1940)

Life at a glance

Died
2015 · October 8
Known as
chef, restaurateur, non-fiction writer, and businessperson. Citizenship: United States

Their story

Who they were

Personal life In 1986, Prudhomme's wife, Kay, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died seven years later on December 31, 1993. [ 1 ] One of his students was Aarón Sánchez , who moved from New York to become an apprentice when Sanchez was 16. Prudhomme had a long-running issue with his weight, resulting in his working from an electric wheelchair on occasion. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In order to lose weight, he wrote his 1993 cookbook, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Fork in the Road .

Paul Prudhomme, also known as Gene Autry Prudhomme, was an American celebrity chef whose specialties were Creole and Cajun cuisines, which he was also credited with popularizing. He was the chef proprietor of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans, and had formerly owned and run several other restaurants. He developed several culinary products, including hot sauce and seasoning mixes, and wrote 11 cookbooks.

Early life

Early life The youngest of 13 children born to Eli Prudhomme, Jr. and Hazel Reed, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Prudhomme was raised on a farm near Opelousas , the seat of Saint Landry Parish , Louisiana . His father was a farmer, who struggled financially during Prudhomme's childhood, and his mother was a creative cook. [ 3 ] Previously named after Saint Paul , as chosen by a Catholic priest , Prudhomme adopted the pseudonym " Gene Autry Prudhomme" during his youth. [ 1 ]

Path and career

Career Prudhomme opened his first restaurant in Opelousas in 1957, a hamburger restaurant called Big Daddy O's Patio. The restaurant went out of business in nine months, during which time his first marriage also ended. [ 1 ] He became a magazine seller initially in New Orleans, and afterward several restaurant jobs took him around the country. During this period he began creating his own spice mixes and giving them away to customers. [ 2 ] In 1970,

Why this date

Paul Prudhomme appears on our October 8 calendar for 2015 as a death entry.

Sources

Cite this page

“Paul Prudhomme”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/people/paul-prudhomme, accessed October 26, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about Paul Prudhomme

When did Paul Prudhomme die?

October 8 2015.

Who else was born on this day?

The date page lists everyone we hold for that calendar day.

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