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.
Michael Roussel
Chef Michael Roussel both began and ended his culinary career at the famed New Orleans restaurant Brennan’s in the French Quarter, dedicating 49 years of his life to creating dishes and sharing them internationally. Born in New Orleans, Roussel grew up cooking creole breakfasts on Sunday mornings with his family, preparing him for a lifetime of creole cooking. He began his culinary career as a busboy before working his way up the ranks from waiter to maitre d’.
Commander's Palace Menu Cover (1960) by John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary LibrarySouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Roussel left Brennan’s after being drafted into the army during Vietnam War, where he worked in the military as a chef. After being discharged, Roussel returned to Brennan’s to study under Chef Paul Blangé as first apprentice. Roussel left Brennan’s briefly in 1969 for a five-year stint at Commander’s Palace, another acclaimed New Orleans establishment owned by the Brennan family.
Inside of Commander's Palace Menu (1960) by John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary LibrarySouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Brennan's Menu (1960) by John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary LibrarySouthern Food and Beverage Museum
In 1974, Rousell returned to Brennan’s as executive chef, where he worked for 30 years until his retirement. While Blangé is credited with creating Brennan’s original menu, Roussel truly brought it to the rest of the world. During his tenure at Brennan’s, Roussel twice had the opportunity to share creole food with President Ronald Reagan. First, he was invited to make Bananas Foster for President Reagan’s Second Inaugural Celebration. At this event, he made over 12,000 servings of Brennan’s famous Bananas Foster. Then, Michael Roussel, along with Tom and Kim Kringlie, Bruce Cain, and John Folse, had the opportunity to make creole food in a restaurant set up by Folse just four blocks from the Kremlin at General Secretary Gorbachev and President Reagan’s Moscow Summit in 1988. Roussel made a variety of desserts for this temporary restaurant, including Bananas Foster and Praline Crepes.
Throughout his career as a chef, Michael Roussel accrued over 100 television appearances where he was commonly known as “Chef Mike”. These appearances include PBS’s Great Chefs of New Orleans, NBC’s Today Show, and ABC’s Good Morning America. While he showed Bananas Foster to the world, Mike Roussel’s true passion was preparing breakfast. During a single breakfast, he estimated that he makes 16 gallons of hollandaise sauce. Roussel stated in an interview, “Breakfast at Brennan’s is a daily love affair with our customers and we serve dinner, too.” Roussel died in 2005 just months after his retirement and shortly before Hurricane Katrina
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.
