Austin Leslie - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Austin Leslie was an internationally famous New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

chef

Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

whose work defined 'Creole

Louisiana Creole cuisine

Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Asian Indian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine...

Soul'. He died in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

at the age of 71 after having been evacuated from New Orleans; he had been trapped in his attic for two days in the 98°F heat in the aftermath of the 29 August Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

. He was honored with the first jazz funeral

Jazz funeral

Jazz funeral is a common name for a funeral tradition with music which developed in New Orleans, Louisiana.The term "jazz funeral" was long in use by observers from elsewhere, but was generally disdained as inappropriate by most New Orleans musicians and practitioners of the tradition...

after Katrina on October 9, 2005 in the still largely deserted city. The procession, led by the Hot 8 Brass Band, marched through the flood-ravaged remains of Leslie's old Seventh Ward

7th Ward of New Orleans

The 7th Ward is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is geographically the second largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans, after the 9th Ward.-Boundaries and geography:...

neighborhood, starting out at Pampy's Creole Kitchen and stopping along the way at the location of the original Chez Helene.
With his trademark captain's cap, lambchop sideburns

Sideburns

Sideburns or sideboards are patches of facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to below the ears and worn with an unbearded chin...

, and broad smile, he was known as the Godfather of Fried Chicken

Fried chicken

Fried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior...

.Where Y'At. Austin Leslie: The Godfather of Fried Chicken NOLA Cuisine.com. Great Chefs of New Orleans: Austin Leslie His distinctive style was the inspiration for the restaurant imagery of the 1987 television show Frank's Place
Frank's Place
Frank's Place is an American comedy-drama series which aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television schedule. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star Tim Reid.-Plot:Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicles the life of Frank Parrish...

.

Early years

While still in high school, Leslie worked at Portia's Fountain on Rampart Street

Rampart Street

Rampart Street is a historic avenue located in New Orleans, Louisiana.The upper end of the street is in the New Orleans Central Business District...

, first as a delivery boy and later in the kitchen under Chef Bill Turner. One of the featured dishes was a crispy fried chicken garnished with sliced dill pickles, which the owner taught him to cook. This would become Leslie's signature item over the next fifty years. After high school he worked as a chef's assistant at the D.H. Holmes

Daniel Henry Holmes

Daniel Henry Holmes was born in the Point Pleasant area of Clermont County, Ohio. Orphaned at age 2, he lacked any formal education...

restaurant. The department store catered primarily to the affluent white elite of New Orleans, and for the four and half years he worked there Leslie was not allowed

Racial segregation in the United States

Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...

to prepare orders directly for customers, doing prep work instead. In 1964, his Aunt Helen opened Chez Helene and Leslie came to work full-time as the chef.

Chez Helene

The original location of the restaurant was on North Robertson Street, near the French Quarter

French Quarter

The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...

. It became the classic "underground" restaurant, featuring good food at reasonable prices in an off-the-beaten-path location. Despite the modest surroundings, it was compared favorably to the grand New Orleans restaurants such as Brennan's

Brennan's

Brennan's is a creole restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is known for its lavish breakfast and for the creation of Bananas Foster.-History:...

, Antoine's

Antoine's

Antoine's is a Louisiana Creole cuisine restaurant located at 713 rue St. Louis in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has the distinction of being the oldest family run restaurant in the United States, having been established in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore...

, and Commander's Palace

Commander's Palace

-History:It was built in 1880. It is located in the Garden District of Uptown New Orleans , and is owned by the Brennan family. It has long been one of the best regarded upscale restaurants in the city. Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse are two of its most famous alumni who have worked in its...

. In addition to receiving rave reviews from the local food critics, Chez Helene also caught the attention of national food writers such as R.W. "Johnny" Apple of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

and Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin

Calvin Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist.-Biography:Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of Scroll and Key before graduating...

. NOLA.com. Love That Chicken. Brett Anderson.
The restaurant served haute creole dishes like Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller consists of oysters on the half-shell that have been topped with various other ingredients and are then baked or broiled.-History:...

as well as down-home items like stuffed bell pepper, fried chicken livers, and mustard greens

Brassica juncea

Brassica juncea, also known as mustard greens, Indian mustard, Chinese mustard, and leaf mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Subvarieties include southern giant curled mustard, which resembles a headless cabbage such as kale, but with a distinct horseradish-mustard flavor...

. His aunt retired in 1975 and sold the restaurant to Leslie.

Despite its commercial and culinary success, the North Robertson neighborhood became unsafe. Cab drivers would not travel to the area, and hotel concierges would no longer recommend the restaurant. Leslie moved his business to the French Quarter

French Quarter

and opened a branch in Chicago. He also tried his hand at running a number of fried chicken

Fried chicken

outlets. But the new location did not have the same charm as the original and Leslie eventually closed Chez Helene in 1995 after thirty years of operation. After closing the Chez Helene he wrote and published the cookbook Creole-Soul.

Creole in California

In 1992, Chef Austin combined with Oakland, California based New Orleans Bill Creole Potato Salads/Food wholesale co. to manufacture and distribute Austin's legendary Creole cooking to New Orleans Bill's supermarket customer base all over California. Austin and "New Orleans Bill", a native New Orleanian himself, started by doing Festivals and Supermarket cooking demonstrations all over California.

Denmark

After Chez Helene, Leslie worked for six months in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

as the executive chef of "N'Awlins". He appeared on Danish television and prepared gumbo

Gumbo

Gumbo is a stew or soup that originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century. It consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions...

and jambalaya

Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence. -Jambalaya varieties:Jambalaya is traditionally made in three parts, with meats and vegetables, and is completed by adding stock and rice. It is also a close cousin to the saffron colored paella found in Spanish culture...

for the Copenhagen Jazz Festival

Copenhagen Jazz Festival

Copenhagen Jazz Festival is an annual Jazz event, taking place in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, each July. The first Copenhagen Jazz Festival was held in 1979. According to reports, around 240,000 people attended the festival in 2004...

. After he returned to New Orleans, Leslie met Jacques Leonardi and joined on as the fry-cook of the newly opened Jacques-Imo's restaurant in the Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans. He introduced his signature Fried Chicken with Persillade

Persillade

Persillade is a sauce or seasoning mixture of parsley chopped together with seasonings including garlic, herbs, oil, and vinegar.In its simplest form, just parsley and garlic, it is a common ingredient in many dishes, part of a sauté cook's mise en place...

garnished with a dill pickle to a new generation of eaters. In October 2004, he left Jacques-Imo's and joined Stan "Pampy" Barre at Pampy's Creole Kitchen in the Seventh Ward. When asked why he left, Leslie said, "I didn't move away from Jack because of money. I moved away from Jacques-Imo's because I wanted to get away from frying. I'm going to die. But I'm not going to die over that fryer." At Pampy's he worked as both a mentor to the kitchen staff, sharing his formidable knowledge of Creole cooking, and as a good-will ambassador in the front of the house, greeting and chatting with guests.

Like many in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Leslie fled up to the attic of his house to escape rising flood waters. He was rescued from his rooftop after two days and evacuated first to the Morial Convention Center, then briefly to Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, and finally to Atlanta. He was admitted to an Atlanta hospital on September 28, 2005 with a high fever and died the next day from a heart attack.NOLA.com. Chef Austin Leslie is dead at 71. Brett Anderson. Chef Austin's generous spirit lives on today in the Creole Potato Salad he helped bring to California, Georgia, and elsewhere, and all those with which he shared his vibrant cooking.

Quotes

You couldn't fry a chicken better than Austin. You couldn't stuff a pepper better than Austin Leslie. - Leah Chase
Leah Chase
Leah Chase is a New Orleans chef, author and television personality. A daughter of the same name is a professional singer; see Leah Chase ....
You think you lose big when you lose your house, but here we lose a person, a person that could help us uplift everything. - Leah Chase
[Austin Leslie's fried chicken] tasted as if it were "made from chickens that have spent their entire pampered lives strolling around the barnyard pecking contentedly at huge cloves of garlic. - Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin
Calvin Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist.-Biography:Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of Scroll and Key before graduating...
He was considered by many to be the black analogue to Paul Prudhomme
Paul Prudhomme
Paul Prudhomme is an American celebrity chef whose specialty is Cajun cuisine. He is also the owner of one of the top restaurants in New Orleans, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen.-Early life:...

. - John T. Edge
John T. Edge
John T. Edge is a food writer and commentator and the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, though he has no formal training or education in culinary arts...

External links

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