HOMEGROWN LOUISIANNA
Paul Prudhomme, A Chef for All Seasonings

By Wendy Musk and Nick Zielke

Homegrown Louisianna Chef Paul Prudhomme has international aspirations. With an unquenchable appetite for innovation and an inability to rest upon his many laurels, this best-selling author of six cookbooks; owner of New Orlean's renowned restaurant, K-Paul's; and first American chef to be awarded the coveted Merite Agricole of the French Republic.

Prudhomme is designing customized seasonings for companies worldwide. The seeds of his supremely successful company, Magic Seasoning Blends were sown when, as a young intrepid chef, Prudhomme enhanced the otherwise bland recipes prepared at the restaurants at which he was employed with his unique blends of herbs and spices. Acclaimed by his local public, Prudhomme offered souvenir packets much to the chagrin of the senior chefs.

Back in New Orleans, Prudhomme's secret seasonings packets proved exceptionally popular and time consuming. It was agreed that a separate facility would free the restaurant staff of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen and thus the fledgling company was born. It now occupies a 30,000 square foot plant with thirty eight employees, distribution in all fifty United States and twenty-five foreign countries. The fifteen branded spice blends under the Magic Seasonings label remain the bulk of his business, which also includes Magic Pepper Sauce, Magic Chili Powders and Andouille and Tasso smoked Louisiana meats from his USDA plant in Melville, Louisiana.

Chef Paul Prudhomme offering his autograph and culinary wisdom to his fans at the recent Western Foodservice and Hospitality Expo 2000 in August.

Chef Prudhomme personally oversees the research and development of seventy-five to one hundred new products per year. His custom blends accommodate every international palate.

Specializing in concept flavoring, Prudhomme responds to requests from companies of diverse culinary cultures. "We can do ten new products in a day. Even though that sounds like a lot, it's easy and fun to do."
Currently developing products for Israel, Prudhomme and company has created a line of soups and breads that come out of the bag dry and need only water added. Packaged products and seasoning blends please a diverse range of palates and pocketbooks. "If the customer wants to pay 3.95 or 6.95 or12.95 or 35.00 for a plate of food or a packaged product, the elements and expectations will change. We've learned to do the best we can to make the best product in any price range."

Born and raised on a farm near Opelousas in Louisiana's Acadiana country, Paul Prudhomme found his metier at his mother's kitchen table. "We didn't have electricity, so of course there was no refrigeration. Therefore, we used only what was fresh and in season. I learned to appreciate herbs and vegetables right from the garden; fish and crawfish just caught in nearby streams and bayous. This bounty, plus my mother's natural talent as a cook, our whole family's love of cooking and eating, and the joy we shared at meals, all influenced me as a chef." He reminisced.

Prudhomme's ethics are deeply rooted in Louisiana soil. "We could have grown a lot but that's not the point. I'm a cook and we make products that I'm proud of. We physically produce every product my picture is on." Perhaps that is the real magic of Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends and the foundation of his delicious expansion onto international terrain.