SAVE THE DATE! LAGUNA BEACH A LA CARTE - A FOOD & WINE EXPERIENCE, MARCH 7-10, 2013 Your guide to everything food-related in Laguna Beach! Long known as a vibrant arts community, Laguna Beach is gaining a well-deserved reputation as an exciting, cutting-edge dining destination. Dozens of unique restaurants add vibrant culinary color to the Laguna landscape, making the town a picture-perfect place to enjoy decadent gastronomic delights.
Chef Paul Prudhomme - K-PAUL'S RESTAURANT NEW ORLEANS
Chef Paul Prudhomme has propelled the distinctive cuisine of his native Louisiana into the international spotlight and continues to push the limits by creating exciting and new American and international dishes.Chef Paul learned the importance of using the freshest ingredients while cooking at his mother’s side and continues to use only earth’s finest harvests. As the youngest of 13 children, Chef Paul was always adventurous. His strong curiosity of life and cultural customs motivated him to leave Louisiana in his early 20’s and travel across the United States to experience every culinary environment possible. From an Indian reservation all the way to the finest, five-star restaurant, Chef Paul learned to love, appreciate and blend the flavors of his younger years with those of many other cultures.
In July 1979, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen® opened its doors in New Orleans. In only a few years, his French Quarter restaurant attracted world travelers and continues to excite diners today. Diners are especially pleased to learn that K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen now takes reservations. Renovations were completed at the restaurant at the end of 1996 doubling the seating capacity. Today, K-Paul’s Catering division satisfies palates in New Orleans and “anywhere on the planet!”
As a result of endless requests for his seasoning secrets, Prudhomme created his own line of all natural (Koshersupervised) herbs and spices. Today, Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends® are distributed in all fifty states and in more than 25 other countries. His blends are popular with both home cooks and professional chefs. In addition, Chef Paul produces his own seasoned and smoked meat s (andouille and tasso). All are available through Magic Seasonings’ Mail-Order catalog, which also features cookbooks, giftpacks and cooking tips (online at
www.chefpaul.com ).
Chef Paul recently added Magic Salt Free Seasoning®, Salmon Magic®, Shrimp Magic® and Sweetie Magic™ to his dry seasoning line and developed a line of sauces-marinades for retail and institutional use. He expanded manufacturing capabilities to a 130,000 square-foot plant which now produces custom blends, bulk sizes and contract packing for otherfood companies at Chef Paul’s AIB approved New Orleans area plant. Chef Paul consults with restaurant chains and large food manufacturers around the world to develop complete menus or selective menu items and specialty dishes. He and his Product Development team and R&D Kitchen can also create specific flavor profiles or duplicate existing ones.
As one of America’s best-known chefs, Prudhomme has been featured often on the three major television networks’ prime time programs. He has made guest appearances on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, 20/20, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Late Night with David Letterman, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Larry King Live, Nightwatch with Charlie Rose, the QVC Shopping Channel, CBS Early Show and the Weekend Today Show. In the Summer of 2002, Chef Paul’s life story was featured on A & E Biography.
Chef Prudhomme has been the subject of numerous articles and has penned many himself as well, in such prominent national magazines as Omni, Life, Time, Newsweek, Bon Appetit, Metropolitan Home, Travel and Leisure, Playboy, Food Arts, and National Geographic Traveler.
Among his many accolades and awards, Chef Paul received the “Restaurateur of the Year” award in 1983 from the Louisiana State Restaurant Association . Chef Paul was the first American–born chef to receive the coveted Merite׳ Agricole of the French Republic and was honored in 1986 as “Culinarian of the Year” and also “Culinary Diplomat”- Chef and Child Foundation (1994) by the American Culinary Federation . Chef Paul also took part in America’s Promise , one of the nation’s leading youth development organizations. The National Restaurant Association has bestowed upon Chef Paul both the College of Diplomates Award (1993) and the Thad and Alice Eure Ambassador of Hospitality Award (2001). He was honored as Nation’s Restaurant News “Fine Dining Legend Award” winner and selected as Chairman of the National Food Safety Education Month in 2001. Some of the local awards Chef Paul has received are the 1994 Louisiana Public Broadcasting Legend Award, the WYES Public Television President’s Award (1999-2000), and the Ella Brennan Savior Faire Award from the ACF-New Orleans Chapter. In May of 2003, Nation’s Restaurant News inducted him into the MenuMasters Hall of Fame and he received Bon Appetit’s Humanitarian Award in 2006.
An international presence, Chef Paul has made personal appearances and given lectures and seminars all over Europe and the Orient. He is devoted to feeding the American troops in bases around the world. He served as a consultant to Team USA of the American Culinary Federation, and participates actively at conventions, seminars and food trade shows nationally and internationally as a guest lecturer and in support of his Magic Seasoning Blends® . He spends time at universities and culinary schools around the world, giving educational seminars for students in all walks of life.
Chef Paul has cooked for heads of state as well as members of the U.S. Congress. Charity work is dear to Chef Paul’s heart and he lends his support to many major fundraisers, which benefit charities such as Meals on Wheels, Easter Seals, the March of Dimes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters,and the National Alzheimer’s Association. Prudhomme was the first Chef to participate in the Robert Mondavi “Great Chef of America” series and was one of 12 chefs chosen from around the world to participate in the celebration of Jerusalem 3000th year anniversary where each chef created a Kosher dish to be served at the King David’s Feast in March 1996.
A best-selling author, Chef Paul has written nine diverse cookbooks and produced six cooking videos, two of which were at the top of the Billboard’s chart for fifty-three consecutive weeks. Five of Chef Paul’s cooking series are based on his cookbooks, Fork In The Road, Fiery Foods, Kitchen Expedition, Louisiana Kitchen and Always Cooking and are currently aired on Cable Television and/or The Public Broadcasting System. Chef Paul’s latest book, Always Cooking, was released in the spring of 2007.