Who are you looking for?Famoose.co
Appearance
Text size
Page width
Colour
Discover›Food
Contents
Leah Chase
Chef

Leah Chase

Famoose for

Making Dooky Chase’s a centre of Creole cooking, Black art and civil-rights organising.

Dooky Chase’s · Gumbo z’herbes

Born
6 January 1923
Birthplace
Louisiana, United States
Died
1 June 2019

More people

Julia ChildMaking French cooking approachable for American home cooks.Gordon RamsayRunning Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and presenting Hell's Kitchen.Anthony BourdainTurning restaurant experience into Kitchen Confidential and television journeys through food and culture.

Leah Chase

Leah Chase was a New Orleans chef whose restaurant became a cultural institution as well as a celebrated place to eat.

Early life

Louisiana childhood

Grew up in Madisonville.

New Orleans

Moved to the city for schooling and later restaurant work.

Career

  1. 1940s

    Restaurant family

    Married Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr. and joined the family business.

  2. 1950s–1960s

    Kitchen leadership

    Developed the restaurant’s menu and reputation.

  3. Later decades

    Culinary institution

    Continued cooking, mentoring and rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

Food & projects

Dooky Chase’s

Became closely associated with New Orleans Creole cuisine.

Gumbo z’herbes

Maintained a distinctive Holy Thursday restaurant tradition.

The Dooky Chase Cookbook

Shared recipes and the restaurant’s food culture.

Beyond work

Civil rights

The restaurant hosted organisers and challenged segregation through its gatherings.

Art

Collected and displayed work by African American artists.

Sources & photo creditLife, career and references ↗

Photo: Joyce N. Boghosian. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.