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Born January 6, 1923, in Madisonville, LA
Died June 1, 2019, in New Orleans, LA
An icon of the civil rights movement, Leah Chase was a master chef in the Creole tradition. Her recipes were based on the seasonings and cooking methods she learned from her mother and included the unique touch of fresh sassafras leaves from a tree her father planted. Her creative cuisine remains the house specialty at Dooky Chase’s, a family-owned restaurant in New Orleans. During her life, Chase fed many influential leaders such as Thurgood Marshall, James Baldwin, Jesse Jackson, and Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. A patron of the arts, Chase amassed an African American art collection that is world renowned.