Louisiana Eats: Remembering Life At K-Paul's And The Legacy Of Paul Prudhomme

K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen staff photo, 1981.

COURTESY OF FRANK BRIGTSEN

Chef Paul Prudhomme changed the American food world forever with his creative, exuberant love for Creole and Cajun food. He was the first American chef to take the reins at Commander's Palace — where the world first had a taste of his culinary genius. He pioneered the now commonplace farm-to-table movement, as he championed Louisiana's farmers and fishermen. As Ella Brennan said, “He had magic in his hands.”

But Paul had magic in his heart as well. No one knows that better than Sandy Hanson, who was at K-Paul's the day they opened their doors in 1979, and her brother-in-law Chef Frank Brigtsen, who joined the K-Paul's kitchen staff shortly thereafter, and credits his culinary successes to his friend and mentor.

Here, Sandy Hanson and Frank Brigtsen share stories previously untold about what it was like to work at the legendary K-Paul's Restaurant, and the positive impact the great Chef Paul Prudhomme had on their lives.