Louis Evans’ Creole Cookbook

Executive chef at the Caribbean Room, as well as chef at the popular Kabby's restaurant, the late Chef Louis Evans established a reputation as one of the most creative and skilled Creole chefs in the nation. The first black chef in history to be admitted to the exclusive Order of the Golden Toque, Evans utilized his unique talent and distinct blending of flavors to create some of New Orleans' finest Creole dishes.

His rise to prominence began inauspiciously enough--as a cook at Sclafaniís restaurant, a local establishment in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. Quietly launching his career in 1959, Louis Evans soon made a name for himself in a demanding industry where everyone is a critic. His life began far from the fine dining rooms in which his culinary creations were served. He grew up as one of seven children in a sharecropperís family in rural Mississippi, but Evansí life took a fortuitous turn when his family moved to New Orleans. Local restaurateur Pete Sclafani saw something notable in one of his new employees. Sclafani took Evans under his wing and trained him in the art of cooking. Having refined his talents with Sclafani for eleven years, Evans stepped up to assume the position of relief cook at the Caribbean Room in the Pontchartrain Hotel. A world-class New Orleans hotel with a renowned reputation, the Pontchartrain Hotel is recognized by the worldís elite traveler for spoiling guests with exceptional service and luxuriously regal accommodations. During Evansí tenure the Caribbean Room was a gathering place for some of the most famous actors, writers, and decision makers of the time. Evansí culinary work charmed discerning dining patrons and management alike. In short order, he was named executive chef, a title he would hold for eighteen years. Cementing his standing there would be a pie-in-the-sky wish come true--make that Mile High Pie, a dessert that became synonymous with the Caribbean Room. When Kabbyís restaurant in the New Orleans Hilton wanted a new chef, they chose the man who brought with him delectable favorites such as Oyster and Artichoke Soup, Chicken in Champagne Sauce, and Crabmeat au Gratin. So popular was Evans, that his loyal clientele followed him to the riverside restaurant and continued to delight in his culinary creations. Evansí success earned him membership in the Order of the Golden Toque, restricted to one hundred members nationwide. He was the first black chef to achieve this distinction and was consistently given four-star ratings by almost every major food critic in the nation. Evans was selected by Julia Child herself as one of thirteen chefs featured in her special PBS series