Nellie Murray learned to cook from her mother and grandmother, who were enslaved by the 14th governor of Louisiana, Paul Octave Hébert.
Almost six decades after she was born enslaved in Bayou Goula in 1835, Murray had become the Chef de Cuisine at the Louisiana Mansion Club during the Chicago World’s Fair.
“Nellie is every inch a lady, as she could not but be when it is remembered that from her birth upwards she was always associated with the elite of the city and the state,” a 1894 Daily Picayune article states. “All fashionable New Orleans knows how Nellie is always in demand for every elegant dejeuner a la fourchette, luncheon and swell dinner, and they know that when a ‘function’ of this kind is placed in her hands their guests will be served with such savory dishes as would make an epicure of Ancient Rome crown her with laurels.”
Murray started her culinary career as the caterer for upper-class families. Dillard University historian Zella Palmer described her as “the most famed caterer of elite New Orleans society.” 64 Parishes said she was considered a ‘lady’ while other Black women were considered to be “inferior and less than human.”
“Murray’s opinion was valued as an expert and a chef,” 64 Parishes stated. “She was considered to have ‘great ability’ and was beloved by wealthy elite French Creoles, Spanish Creoles and Americans.”
Having lived in Paris, Berlin, Rome and other European cities, Murray became “an instant celebrity” after the 1893 World’s Fair, 64 Parishes states. “Northerners tasting Louisiana Creole cuisine for the first time waited for hours to meet her and relish her elegant menu.”
Murray, who spoke out against segregated street cars and cooked for Susan B. Anthony during the 1903 National American Woman Suffrage Association Convention, died in 1918.
For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.
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