Remembering Leah Chase, Who Transformed New Orleans and Its Food

When she made roux for her shrimp-and-sausage gumbo (one cup peanut oil and eight tablespoons flour) in her joyfully elegant restaurant in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Leah Chase, who died on June 1 at age 96, stirred very slowly with her wooden spoon until it blended to the color of café au lait and could bind together all the diverse ingredients. So, too, did the binding magic of her roux and her smile extend to people.

When she made roux for her shrimp-and-sausage gumbo (one cup peanut oil and eight tablespoons flour) in her joyfully elegant restaurant in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Leah Chase, who died on June 1 at age 96, stirred very slowly with her wooden spoon until it blended to the color of café au lait and could bind together all the diverse ingredients. So, too, did the binding magic of her roux and her smile extend to people.