--- description: In her memoir on culinary arts in New Orleans, Ella Brennan said, “I don’t want a restaurant where a jazz band can’t come marching through.” title: Remembering Ella Brennan, the Matriarch of New Orleans Cuisine image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cbff6435e03047/698932747cdbac0e5fd5d16c/ella-brennan-new-orleans-commanders-palace.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Remembering Ella Brennan, the Matriarch of New Orleans Cuisine  by [Walter Isaacson](/author/walter-isaacson/)  ## Walter Isaacson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 7, 2018 11:27 AM CUT  Brennan at Commander’s Palace—the New Orleans restaurant she and her family took charge of more than 40 years ago—on Dec. 14, 2016 Brennan at Commander’s Palace—the New Orleans restaurant she and her family took charge of more than 40 years ago—on Dec. 14, 2016EDMUND D. FOUNTAIN—The New York Times/Redux  by [Walter Isaacson](/author/walter-isaacson/)  ## Walter Isaacson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 7, 2018 11:27 AM CUT In her memoir of the culinary arts in New Orleans, Ella Brennan proclaimed, “I don’t want a restaurant where a jazz band can’t come marching through.” At Commander’s Palace, her vibrant stage for creole cuisine, such bands not only could but did often march through‚ with Miss Ella second-lining with them. Dining with her was like watching a choreographer control a stage with glances, hand signals and glares, as she noticed a half-empty water glass four tables away or a pecan-crusted pompano improperly plated. With her passion and compassion, she cared deeply about every detail of her diners’ experience, and she was a pioneer among restaurateurs who stressed local ingredients and cuisines. During her 72 years (yes!) in the business, before her death on May 31 at age 92 in her elegant home adjoining her restaurant, she trained many great chefs, including Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, but just as important to her were the cadres of waiters and captains she commanded as her front line in turning meals into celebrations. _Isaacson is a professor of history at Tulane University and a former managing editor of TIME_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5304231/elle-brennan-remembrance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5304231/elle-brennan-remembrance/"},"headline":"Remembering Ella Brennan, the Matriarch of New Orleans Cuisine","datePublished":"2018-06-07T11:27:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:29:58.585Z","description":"In her memoir on culinary arts in New Orleans, Ella Brennan said, “I don’t want a restaurant where a jazz band can’t come marching through.”","url":"https://time.com/5304231/elle-brennan-remembrance/","keywords":["new orleans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cbff6435e03047/698932747cdbac0e5fd5d16c/ella-brennan-new-orleans-commanders-palace.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Walter Isaacson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/walter-isaacson/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cbff6435e03047/698932747cdbac0e5fd5d16c/ella-brennan-new-orleans-commanders-palace.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ella Brennan at Commander's Palace","caption":"Ella Brennan at Commander's Palace","creditText":"EDMUND D. FOUNTAIN—The New York Times/Redux","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5304231/elle-brennan-remembrance/","name":"Remembering Ella Brennan, the Matriarch of New Orleans Cuisine"}}]}] ```