"Lena-Richards" {September 11,1892-November 27,1950}

She was a "Martha Stewart" long before there was a Martha Stewart.She was a chef, caterer,restaurateur,cooking teacher,cookbook author,wife,mama,and grandmamma;as well as the host of her own cooking show on New Orleans T.V. This was a phenomenal achievement for a woman of color in the days of Jim Crow.


Having been born into a Catholic Creole family in New Roads,(Pointe Coupee).Lena Paul was baptized one month later at St.Mary's Church as the daughter of Jean-Pierre (John-Peter) Paul  and Francoise Laurent (Frances Laurent).After their marriage on November 17 1881,Mr & Mrs. Paul would bring into the world ten children.The family would eventually move to New Orleans.


Leana's career began as a domestic assisting her mama and aunt after school at the Esplanade Avenue home of  Alice Nugent Vairin.Aware  of her contrbutions in the kitchen,Mrs.Vairlin began paying Lena a salary when she turned fourteen,upon finishing school she was employed by the family.


Recognizing her natural talents as a cook,Mrs.Vairin sent Lena to cooking school  locally and later to the renowned Fannie Farmer Cooking School in Boston from which she graduated in 1918.Lena did not believe her time had a significant impact on her cooking:

"When I got up there,i found out in a hurry they can't teach me much more than I know.I learned things about new deserts and salads but when it comes to cooking meats,stews,and sauces;we Southern cooks have Northern cooks beat by a mile."

(1920s)

In the early 1920s,Lena began a catering business from her home and even opened a sweet shop on North Derbigny Street which served sandwiches,red beans,and watermelon.By the 1920s,she had also married Percival Richard.They later had one daughter,Marie Richard who would receive a Home Ecnomic degree from Xavier University.

(1930-1939)

Throughout the 1930s,Lena moved her catering services to several different locations and opened a lunch house for laundry workers.By 1937,with the help of her daughter,Marie Richard Rhodes,she opened her first cooking school in the city.In 1938,Lena hosted cooking demonstrations for white socialites at Bethlehem Temple in the French Quarter.


(1940)


As a result of the praise she receive as a cateress and due to the constant request by housewives for her recipes,Lena decided to publish a cookbook.In 1940 ,Houghton Mifflin,with the endorsement of famous food writer James Beard,published New Orleans Cook Book by Lena Richard.It was receive as the best Creole cookbook of its time and included a mixture of traditional New Orleans recipes as well as those created by Lena herself.Within its pages she openly praised the African American cooks who influenced her cooking and the cuisine of New Orleans.Recipes such as:Baked Stuffed Oysters,Court Bouillion, Crawfish & Shrimp Bisque,Turtle Soup,Gumbo File', Baked Turtle in Shell, and Baked Plantains are few that made her cookbook so popular.Included also was a recipe for Calas Tous Chauds which consisted of cooked rice made into cakes then fried and covered with cane syrup,a dish handed down by her mama.With the help of her daughter,Lena began conducting her cooking classes again 3 nights a week.Soon after she was lured to New York to head the Bird & Bottle Inn with her signature dish of Shrimp Soup Louisiana.

(1941-1950)

Upon returning to New Orleans a year later,Lena Richard opened her first restaurant,Lena's Eatery at 2727 LaSalle Street.Here whites & African Americans at side by side at a time when segregation were enforced in the South.An ad placed in the local newspaper for restaurant sought to rally support for business as well as the war effort of 1942,it urged readers to "Buy War Bonds," Save Your Waste Fats for the Government," Buy War Stamps." Once again,Lena was enticed to leave New Orleans and head north,this time to Colonial Williamsburgh as head chef of the Travis House.This move would bring Lena national recognition.Here she cooked for many dignitaries, including Clementine & Mary Churchhill,the wife and daughter of Sir Winston Churchill.

(1945-1950)

By 1945,Lena was once again drawn back to home town.She and her daughter returned to resume her catering business at 2710 Marengo Street and to set up a food-freezing business on Metairie Road.

The highlight of Lena's career took place when she opened,Lena Richard's Gumbo House,on February 19 1949,Located at 1936 Louisiana Avenue (corner Danneel),it was a family operated business.Her son-in-law,Leroy Rhodes,managed the restaurant;her husband Percival maintained the property,and her daughter,Marie Rhodes,managed the finances.Lena was simply known as "Mama Lena" by her customers.

Often,members of Holy Ghost Parish would eat dinner after Sunday mass.Customers even purchase turtle soup,okra gumbo,grillades,chichen fricassee and beef stew by the pint and quart to take home.

In 1949,three thousand women of color entered the auditorium of Booker T.Washington High to attend the Lena Richard's Cooking & Baking School,the first of its kind.

In the late 1940s, Lena made history as the first African American woman to host a weekly T.V. cooking show on WDSU.Sponsored by Holsum Bread,it aired twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and was broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium.Unfortunately,footage of her T.V. shows no longer exists.

Suddenly, at the height of her career  Lena passed away.She had not been ill and died of a sudden heart attack justa few hours after leaving her restaurant.

Her funeral services were held at Holy Ghost Church and her remains were interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery on December 1 1950.

Lena's family kept the Gumbo House opened until 1950.