Leah Chase, the New Orleans chef known for her legendary Creole cuisine and for her role as a pioneer of the civil rights era, died on Saturday at the age of 96.
As executive chef and co-owner of Dooky Chase’s restaurant, Chase made the eatery a hub for the African American community of New Orleans and a meeting place for organizers of the civil rights movement.
Chase married into the restaurant in 1946 and transformed it from a casual sandwich shop into a refined dining establishment. She had previously worked as a waitress in the city’s French Quarter, where some of the restaurants were expensive and for whites only.
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