At Commander's Palace, the co-proprietor makes sure the restaurant lives up to its 131-year legacy while moving into the future — one jazz brunch at a time.

At Commander's Palace, the co-proprietor makes sure the restaurant lives up to its 131-year legacy while moving into the future — one jazz brunch at a time.

Her decision to tap Mr. Prudhomme, a Cajun, to run Commander’s kitchen in the 1970s loosened the grip that European-born chefs had on American fine dining. Alongside Ms. Brennan, and later on his own, the media-savvy Mr. Prudhomme helped set the table for a renaissance in American regional cooking that has yet to abate.