Michael Roussel was born in New Orleans in 1938. He became a busboy, then a waiter at Brennan’s on Bourbon Street, and led the procession carrying chairs, silverware, linens and dishes to the new restaurant on Royal Street in 1956. He worked his way up to head waiter and maitre d’ before going into the army and serving in Vietnam. He was assigned to work with the former chef at the Antler’s Hotel in Colorado Springs, and went to Cook & Bakers School at Fort Lee in Virginia, graduating with honors, and was promoted to Head of Mess at Fort Carson, Colorado.
After discharge, he returned as First Apprentice to Chef Paul Blange at Brennan’s. When the Brennan family split their properties, he moved to become chef at Commander’s Palace for 5 years, before returning to Brennan’s on Royal as executive chef in 1974 where he remained for the next 30 years.
Great Chefs Television had worked with him on the Chef’s Charity and he was one of the first chefs to be featured in the early 1980’s on the PBS series, Great Chefs of New Orleans. Later he prepared Bananas Foster for 12,000 people at President Reagan’s second inaugural in 1985, and in 1988, prepared Creole food for Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan. He retired from Brennan’s in early 2005 and passed away in mid-2005, just before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.
Brennan’s reopened earlier in 2015 by Ralph Brennan, and “Chef Mike’s” kitchen still hums today like he has never left.
Claude Aubert was born and raised on a large farm in France that slaughtered pigs, and grew produce for French restaurants.
At age 19, he entered the military and their kitchens for 4 years. At 23 he joined Air France to supervise their food services in Africa. He then moved on to work in restaurants in Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile and finally to New Orleans, to open the newly renovated Broussard’s, in the French Quarter.
In 1980, proprietor Archie Casbarian hired Chef Aubert away for his newly renovated restaurant a block away, Arnaud’s. Great Chefs was just starting their new series for PBS, Great Chefs of New Orleans, and Chef Claude was the 7th chef picked to prepare a complete menu.
In 1983, Chef Claude decided it was time to open his own restaurant, Le Bec Fin, on New Orleans north shore in Covington. Great Chefs returned to tape another show at his new place, for Great Chefs II.
Ten years later, he accepted an offer to run the kitchen at the Jack Nicklaus Club, Nevillewood outside of Pittsburgh PA.