Dickie Brennan
Dickie Brennan & Company
As a member of the famed New Orleans restaurant family, Dickie Brennan has spent his life in the hospitality field. His first taste of the industry began at Commander’s Palace under legendary chef Paul Prudhomme. He continued on the path of restaurateur as a part of the opening team at Mr. B’s Bistro in 1979. After attending LSU and graduating from Loyola University, Dickie moved to New York and worked with famed American chef Larry Forgione at his new “An American Place” restaurant. Seeking to broaden his horizons, he went on to study in Rome and France, where he cooked in some of Paris’ most famous restaurants and apprenticed at Delmonico’s restaurant in Mexico City. These experiences laid the ideal groundwork for his future enterprises: Palace Café, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse and Bourbon House.
Palace Café opened in 1991, and within its first year of operation, Dickie became Executive Chef. To date, he remains the only Brennan family member to have held this position. With Dickie at the helm, Palace Café won many honors, including Esquire Magazine’s “Best New Restaurant”’ award.
In partnership with his sister, Lauren Brennan Brower and his business partner, Steve Pettus, he opened Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse in 1998. Just a few short years later, in 2002, Dickie, Lauren and Steve opened Bourbon House Seafood & Oyster Bar. Both restaurants have since received national acclaim.
Over the years, Dickie has received numerous honors, including being named as one of Gambit’s “40 under 40,” one of the Young Leadership Council’s Role Models, to the New Orleans Junior Achievement’s Business Hall of Fame Laureates and the Louisiana Travel & Promotion Association’s Restaurateur of the Year 2010. Also, in appreciation of his work promoting and fostering a sense of appreciation for Bourbon through Bourbon House, the State of Kentucky inducted Dickie into the society of Kentucky Colonels.
As an ambassador for New Orleans and its unique culture, Dickie remains active in the community and hospitality industry. During his career, he has served as President of the New Orleans Restaurant Association, President of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, Chairman of the Board of the Downtown Development District and Chairman of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation. Currently, he serves on the James Beard Foundation Board of Trustees and is Chairman of the Board for the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Tulane University Medical Hospital, Kingsley House and Hibernia Homestead Bank and is an Associate Member of the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
A family man above all else, Dickie manages the obligations of a successful career while raising two beautiful children, Sara and Richard, with his wife Leslie.
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Alison Tryon
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