Photograph: Enola Prudhomme Prather (January 1, 1932 – January 28, 2012)
Carola Lillie Hartley
Publisher and Contributing Writer
Enola Prudhomme, the daughter of Eli Prudhomme and Hazel Reed Prudhomme, was born in St. Landry Parish on January 1, 1932. The date of her birth was a sign of the things Enola would do during her life. She was a go-getter, and a starter. Just as January 1, 1932 was the beginning of a new year, the birth of Enola Prudhomme on that date was the beginning of a new chapter in the culinary history of Opelousas and St. Landry Parish.
The Prudhomme family of this area of Louisiana was known for their culinary skills, and boy, could they cook! Take Enola’s younger brother Gene Autry Prudhomme for instance. I am sure we all know about Gene, who we remember as Chef Paul Prudhomme, right? Just think about all he did to further Cajun and Creole cooking. He spread that good cuisine, its ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques all around the world. He helped to put Opelousas and St. Landry Parish on the map, so to speak.
But before that, there was sister Enola. Boy could she cook! And she used that skill to make a great life for herself and her family. Enola’s commercial cooking experience began when she owned and operated the school cafeteria at T. H. Harris for two years. She worked as the manager of the deli at K-Paul’s in New Orleans, where she refined her culinary skills.
In 1984 Enola decided to partner with her son Sonny Aymond to open the Prudhomme Cajun Café, located in a former gas station building at 512 Main Street in Washington, LA. In no time the restaurant was trendy, and people from around the parish and other areas went to Washington just to enjoy the Prudhomme food.
During the time the café operated in Washington, Enola became involved in tourism, as she recognized the importance of food to the culture of the south Louisiana area. She started attending tourism meetings, workshops and conferences all around Louisiana, and beyond. In November of 1986, she was part of the team that traveled to East Tennessee for a conference presented by the Tennessee Valley Authority with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The TVA conference, that I also attended with Enola, along with Sherry Doucet and Sue Brignac, focused on the importance of using historic and cultural assets in a community to attract tourist, especially in small, rural towns and cities. Enola learned a lot from that conference and used the tools she acquired there to help built her business and help her community.
She was a great promoter, involved in activities with the town of Washington, as well as tourism efforts in St. Landry Parish, Lafayette Parish and Louisiana. She was also instrumental in helping to form a restaurant association in St Landry Parish, and later in Lafayette Parish.
Not long after we returned from the conference in Tennessee, Enola called and asked if I would meet her at a home located off of Highway 167 near Carencro. She gave me a tour of the home, and afterwards sat on the front steps with me and talked for a while. I can remember that so well, like it was yesterday. She told me she was going to buy that house and move the Prudhomme Cajun Café to that location. And she did just that, moving her business from Washington to that location in about 1987.
With Enola’s hard work, and help from her husband Shelton and her children, the restaurant grew to be a popular spot for local folks, and a huge attraction for tourists that were pouring into Acadiana during that time from throughout Louisiana, the US and several other countries. Many a bus tour made a stop at the café to enjoy some of Enola’s great food.
She also demonstrated the art of her culinary skills at fairs, festivals, events and conferences around Louisiana, the US and internationally. Enola with her son Sonny Aymond, her son-in-law Chris Oncole, and her son-in-law Ike Broussard, were competitors in many of the area and state cook-offs at these events, winning numerous awards for Prudhomme’s Cajun Café.
In 1993 Enola was named Businesswoman of the Year in Louisiana, and the restaurant was selected as the best Louisiana/Cajun restaurant for southwest Louisiana in 1994. And over the years there were many other awards and honors.
After over twenty years of operating the café and presenting at events, writing cookbooks, giving interviews for local, national and international publications, and participating in film and video presentations, Enola closed the business, and the building was put up for sale. That was in 2007.
But even after that, Enola did not stop. She continued to promote the great foods of South Louisiana in demonstrations and talks at local fairs and festivals around the state and other areas. She was a well-respected chef, a recognition she certainly earned.
I remember some of the last conversations I had with Enola. She was always doing something to contribute to the preservation of the Cajun cuisine. Even when she was not feeling her best, and in her last days, she was talking food.
Enola Prudhomme Prather passed away on January 28, 2012 surrounded by her family. She is buried in Bellevue Memorial Park Cemetery in Opelousas, LA.
Enola’s contribution to the art of Cajun/Creole cooking is the legacy she left behind. But she was so much more than that. She was a daughter, a sister, a mother, a grandmother, a chef, a cookbook author, a promoter, an entrepreneur, and more. But most of all, to me personally, she was my friend and I still miss her.
