Leyah Chase was an American chef based in New Orleans, Louisiana. An author and television personality, she was known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, advocating both African-American art and Creole cooking. Leyah Chase became the inspiration for Princess Tiana in Disneyβs animated 2009 classic The Princess and the Frog. Her honors have been many: Chef Chase received the 2016 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lafcadio Hearn Hall of Honor at Nicholls State University's John Folse Culinary Institute, the Candace Award, the Freedom Foundation Award, the NAACP Human Understanding and A.P. Tureaud Awards, the Times-Picayune Loving Cup and the Weiss Award from The National Conference of Christians and Jews- to name a few. She is the author of the Dooky Chase Cookbook. Dooky Chase's Restaurant served as a meeting place for labor leaders during the Godchaux Sugar Refinary strike in 1955, planning sessions for local lunch counter protesters Jerome Smith, Rudy Lombard and Oretha Castle Haley, and as a secret meeting location for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Bus Riders. Today Dooky Chase's remains family owned and operated. After Hurricane Katrina Dooky's did close for a two years to rebuild, but with assistance of many, Dooky Chase's remains the premier restaurant for authentic Creole Cuisine. The Chase Family enjoys serving its regular customers, tourists, and locals. #dookychase #louisiana #blackhistorymonth #everythanculture #blackhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CaBbDXUlGLp/?utm_medium=tumblr
