Louisiana Legend Paul Prudhomme Dead at 75

Iconic Cajun and Creole chef Paul Prudhomme has died at the age of 75. Per WWL in New Orleans, a rep from Prudhomme's restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, says Prudhomme's death comes in the wake of "a brief illness."

Prudhomme first rose to fame as the executive chef of the legendary New Orleans restaurant Commander's Palace, where he's largely credited with helping to revolutionize Creole cuisine; he opened K-Paul's in the French Quarter in 1979, where it's still a major draw for tourists today.

In addition to his restaurant, Prudhomme wrote numerous cookbooks and had several cooking shows on PBS that helped him become the iconic face of Creole and Cajun cooking. WWL notes that "Prudhomme and his wife Kay introduced the blackened redfish craze, which made the fish so popular that commercial fishing of the species became restricted in order to prevent it from going extinct." He has a popular line of spices called Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends that are sold in practically every grocery store in America, and is even credited with inventing the bird-within-a-bird-within-a-bird creation the turducken.