Creole Cuisine: African American Contributions is a celebration of the
influence of African-American chefs and restaurateurs on Creole cuisine
and food culture in New Orleans. This exhibit is based on and expands
upon one existing currently in the Southern Food and Beverage Museum as
well as draws on the book Creole Feast for inspiration.
Cover of Creole Feast (1978) by Frank Lotz MillerSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
In the book Creole Feast, published in 1978, Chef Nathaniel Burton of Broussard’s and oral historian and civil rights activist Rudy Lombard opened the doors to some of New Orleans’ top restaurants, revealing to the reader that the creators of Creole haute cuisine were not Creole persons of European descent but, instead, African American. The book presents chefs from some truly elite restaurants, such as Galatoire’s, Broussard’s, and the Caribbean Room, who, with few exceptions, remain today almost unknown to the contemporary public. While these men and women cooked in the days before “celebrity” chefs were hailed as masters of their art, Burton and Lombard celebrated these chefs, honoring and preserving their legacies with this account.
The Baquet Family
The Baquet family has owned ten different restaurants in New Orleans since the mid-1940s. Throughout the family’s history as restaurateurs, fried chicken has been a staple, beginning with its origin at Paul Gross Chicken Coop to Lil Dizzy’s Cafe, which is still open today.
The Baquets have creole roots that can be traced back two centuries in New Orleans, including jazz clarinetists George and Achille Baquet. The label “Creole-soul” was added to the food of Eddie’s, but Wayne Sr. rejects this notion, stating “Creole is soul, Creole food in New Orleans is cooked by the people in New Orleans who are Creole.”
Lil Dizzy's Fried ChickenSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
The first restaurant opened by a member of the Baquet family was Paul Gross Chicken Coop in the mid-1940s. One of the first African-American owned restaurants in the city, the restaurant opened only a few years after nearby Dooky Chase. Located in Treme, it was a 24 hour restaurant popular for its Chicken-in-a-box, run by Ada Baquet Gross.
Eddie Baquet Sr by Courtesy of Wayne BaquetSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Eddie Baquet Sr grew up working at Paul Gross Chicken Coop with his aunt, Ada Baquet Gross. Shirley Porter, president of the New Orleans NAACP, praised his involvement in the local civil rights movement while he was there. She said, “He was really instrumental in the local civil rights movement by assisting our youth and our people who were picketing segregated businesses on Canal Street. They went to the Chicken Coop to eat, they kept their signs there, and he let them meet there during a time when it was dangerous to take a stand of any kind.”
In 1975, he and his wife, Myrtle, opened up their first restaurant, Eddie’s, located in New Orleans Seventh Ward. Eddie’s served as a bar in the front and a home to the Baquets in the rear. It was a humble beginning with a cigar box used as a cash register. Eddie’s served typical lunch fare like po-boys and fried chicken.
Eddie and Wayne Baquet by Courtsey of Wayne BaquetSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Wayne Sr, one of Eddie’s children, tired of the cramped space and work at the bar, left home at age 21 to work at Woolco, where he climbed the ranks and gained managerial experience. Persuaded by his brother, Eddie Jr, he came back in 1976 and used his management skills to flip Eddie’s from being primarily a bar to a nice, sit-down restaurant. It quickly became a popular mealtime destination.
Eddie Baquet Sr Outside Eddie's by Courtesy of Wayne BaquetSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Wayne Sr took advantage of Eddie’s popularity and added a secondary takeout location, Eddie’s Fried Chicken and Hot Sausage, which also proved wildly successful. Wayne Baquet Sr went on to open several other restaurants under the “Eddie Baquet” name.
Wayne Baquet Sr. by Courtesy of Wayne BaquetSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
The original Eddie’s closed in 1996, shortly after the death of Eddie Baquet Sr. Wayne Baquet Sr. runs the popular Li'l Dizzy's Cafe in Treme.
Wayne M. Baquet Sr. Award by Courtesy of Wayne BaquetSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
The Baquet family awarded this to Wayne Baquet Sr. for his 28 years of service from 1976 to 2004 upon his first retirement. Wayne opened Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe shortly after receiving this retirement award.
This exhibit has been made possible due to contributions from the John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary Library, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, the Southern Foodways Alliance, Rise Delmar Ochsner, Leah Chase, Wayne Baquet Sr., and the Newcomb Archive and made possible with funding from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation.
