Gizelle Bryant Remembers "Icon" Leah Chase; Chef Set to Appear on RHOP

On June 1, Chef Leah Chase died at the age of 96 at her son's home near her New Orleans restaurant, Dooky Chase’s. Among the many celebrities paying tribute to was The Real Housewives of Potomac's Gizelle Bryant, who shared a photo on Instagram with the Creole chef in her restaurant. 

Captioning the image, Gizelle wrote, "#LeahChase was an inspirational icon starting the first Black fine dining restaurant in the country @dookychaseresteraunt Her leaving us is a HUGE void. The City of New Orleans was forever changed for the better. May she rest peacefully."

The restaurant, the first upscale dining establishment for black patrons in the city, became a gathering place for civil rights leaders as they organized. "Mrs. Chase fed hungry Freedom Riders fresh off the road and hosted meetings of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People," according to The New York Times's obituary.

Padma Lakshmi Shares an Intimate Personal Story in Memory of Chef Leah Chase, Who Died at 96

Chef Chase — who fed the reverend Martin Luther King Sr., Nat King Cole, and presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — is set to appear on RHOP.  See the culinary icon's appearance on Sunday, June 9 at 8/7c, when Gizelle and Candiace's dads are among the guests at Dooky Chase's restaurant. New Orleans' first black woman mayor, LaToya Cantrell, also appears in the special episode.

Chef Chase also appeared on Bravo's Top Chef, whose host Padma Lakshmi memorialized her with a poignant personal story derived from her filming experience.