"Everybody likes a bowl of gumbo. I like to think we changed the course of America in this restaurant over a bowl of gumbo." -- Leah Chase
Leah Chase is known as "the Queen of Creole Cuisine." She was born in Madisonville but was sent to live with her aunt in New Orleans in 1937 and to attend St. Mary's Academy for high school. After graduation, she got a job at Colonial Restaurant on Chartres Street and has been in the restaurant industry ever since.
In 1945, she met and married musician Edgar "Dooky" Chase II, whose band was playing at a Mardi Gras ball. His parents owned Dooky Chase Restaurant. After her children were old enough to attend school, Leah started working at the restaurant three days a week. She started out as a hostess, but she was soon redecorating the restaurant, changing the menu, and cooking. Because of Leah, the Dooky Chase Restaurant became well-known for its good food, antiques, and original African American art.
Before the civil rights movement, most restaurants would not serve African Americans. Leah led the change by inviting everyone to eat at Dooky Chase. The restaurant soon gained a following among locals and among black luminaries in the arts, sports, and politics who visited New Orleans. By the 1950s, the restaurant became a meeting place for activists and civic leaders, both black and white. Even though this violated segregation laws, the police did not interrupt meetings at Dooky Chase Restaurant. Groups packed into the second-floor dining room for planning sessions, while restaurant staff shuttled food up the narrow staircase.
Chase has received many awards both for her culinary work and community service including: the coveted New Orleans Times-Picayune 1997 Loving Cup Award, the Weiss Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Torch of Liberty Award, the University of New Orleans Entrepreneurship Award, the Outstanding Woman Award from the National Council of Negro Women, a lifetime achievement award from the Southern Foodways Alliance, a lifetime achievement award from the James Beard Foundation in 2016, plus many honors from the NAACP.
My New Orleans by
From famous writers and personalities who call the city home, whether by birth or simply love, these pieces written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina serve as a timeless tribute to New Orleans. Sentimental, joyful, and witty, these essays by celebrated writers, entertainers, chefs, and fans honor the life of one of America's most beloved cities. Paul Prudhomme writes about the emotional highs New Orleans inspires, Wynton Marsalis exalts his native city as soul model for the nation, while Walter Isaacson shares his vision for preserving his hometown's pentimento magic. Stewart O'Nan recalls the fantasy haze that enshrouded his first trip to the Big Easy when he was thirty and bowed to Richard Ford to receive his first literary prize. Poppy Z. Brite thanks New Orleans for helping her discover the simple pleasure of Audubon Park's egrets, and Elizabeth Dewberry explores what it means to work Bourbon Street as a stripper. My New Orleans captures the spirit of the city that was -- and that will be again.
Leah Chase by
Leah Lange Chase was raised in a small, country town across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. With the values instilled in her by devoted parents-hard work, faith, and family-she soon grew into a woman to be reckoned with. In her roles as chef of the most popular Creole restaurant in New Orleans, nationally respected patron of the arts, and civic leader, she has influenced the world around her in important ways. Reading her story makes one think, "If she can do it, maybe I can too."
I Dream a World by
A celebration in photographs and interviews of African-American women who have in some way changed or contributed to the American nation. They include writers, poets, lawyers, singers, activists, sportswomen and journalists. Brian Lanker won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.