Paul Prudhomme

NEW ORLEANS — Paul Prudhomme, the Cajun who popularized spicy Louisiana cuisine and became one of the first American restaurant chefs to achieve worldwide fame, died Thursday. He was 75.

Tiffanie Roppolo, the CFO of Prudhomme’s businesses, said he died early Thursday after a brief illness.

Prudhomme became prominent in the early 1980s, soon after opening K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, a French Quarter diner. He had no formal training, but sparked a nationwide interest in Cajun food by serving dishes — gumbo, étouffée and jambalaya — that were virtually unknown outside Louisiana.

The distinctly American chef became a sensation at a time when the country’s top restaurants served virtually nothing but European food.

“He was always on a mission and nothing was impossible for Paul. He did things his way and let the food speak for itself,” said chef Frank Brigtsen, who worked for Prudhomme. “He changed the way we eat in New Orleans in a major way, by bringing Acadian or Cajun cuisine to the restaurants of the city.”

Prudhomme was known for his innovations. His most famous dishes used the technique he called blackening: fish or meat covered with spices, then seared in a white-hot skillet. Blackened redfish became so popular that Prudhomme lamented over customers who stopped ordering the traditional Cajun dishes that he loved.