Chez Helene once stood on North Robertson Street. The late Chef Austin Leslie known as the ‘father of fried chicken’ in New Orleans bought the restaurant from his aunt in 1975. The charismatic chef who donned a boat captain’s hat and wore a necklace with a large diamond crab medallion cooked some of the best cornbread, fried chicken and Oysters Rockefeller in New Orleans. People from all over came for Leslie’s infectious smile and mouth watering food. In the late 1980’s a television sitcom Frank’s Place was based on Chez Helene and Chef Austin Leslie. Unfortunately, Chez Helene closed in 1989, and during Katrina, Leslie spent two days trapped in the attic of his home. Although Leslie was rescued and flown to two different states for treatment, he died of a high fever. A Second line parade after Katrina in 2005 in his honor commenced at Pampy’s restaurant, the former Chez Helene, and then proceeded to the Backstreet Cultural Museum.
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