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.
Willie Mae Seaton
Willie Mae Seaton was born in Crystal Springs, Mississippi in 1916. She moved to New Orleans in 1940 when her husband got a job at a shipyard. In 1957, Willie Mae Seaton established Willie Mae’s Scotch House in the Treme Neighborhood.
The Willie Mae's Sign (2017-04-27) by William MutchnikSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
After a year, the restaurant moved from its original location to its current location at 2401 St. Ann Street. The double shotgun currently holds the restaurant’s three dining rooms.
Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese, and Peas (2017-04-27) by William MutchnikSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
The current location in the Sixth Ward was once a barbershop and beauty salon, with a bar in the back. Seaton ran the bar until the early 1970’s, when the beauty shop closed and she expanded the bar into a full restaurant.
One of Willie Mae's Dining Rooms (2017-04-27) by William MutchnikSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Despite the name, Willie Mae’s Scotch House is not best known for its scotch, but for its fried chicken. It is called a scotch house since originally the bar only had a liquor license, but no beer license.
Willie Mae's Scotch House Menu 2 (2017-04-27) by William MutchnikSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Willie Mae’s Scotch House won the James Beard Award for America’s Classic Restaurant for the Southern Region in 2005. This achievement brought the restaurant national recognition.
Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Fries (2017-04-27) by William MutchnikSouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Shortly after receiving this prestigious award, Willie Mae’s was damaged severely by Hurricane Katrina. It took until 2007 to be rebuilt and open up to the public.
Willie Mae Seaton (2009) by Jimmie Thorns Jr. and John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary LibrarySouthern Food and Beverage Museum
Seaton spoke to the Southern Foodways Alliance about her experiences running her restaurant. Seaton died in September of 2015 at age 99.
Interview courtesy of the Southern Foodways Alliance. https://www.southernfoodways.org/
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.
