Some dishes are best enjoyed with a little history, and court bouillon is one of them. To bring this Creole classic to your table, we’re spotlighting someone who knows the Dooky Chase’s kitchen better than almost anyone: Executive Sous Chef Cleo Robinson.

Cleo has spent 45 years at Dooky Chase’s, the venerated New Orleans restaurant celebrated for its food, culture, and its role in the civil rights movement. She began with take-out orders and filling in wherever needed. In 1984, she stepped in to help prep and saw Mrs. Leah Chase (Cleo’s aunt) juggling too much at the stove. She came back to lend a hand, and Mrs. Chase soon asked her to be in the kitchen for good.

Today Cleo works in the back kitchen, prepping, plating, and handling all the ordering. She is now cooking alongside the restaurant’s third family chef. Her favorite part? “Taking part in all the ambitions my aunt had.” When guests leave happy, she says, that is all the reward she needs.

Outside the kitchen, you’ll likely find her fishing, hoping for reds and specs in the Gulf. It’s a passion she traces to her grandmother, and it pairs well with a dish like court bouillon, which celebrates fresh Louisiana catch.

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Featured image courtesy Kenny Morrison.