NEW ORLEANS — Another honor for culinary icon Leah Chase.

The “Queen of Creole Cuisine” and chef of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant received the InnovatHER Award before the kickoff of the “Women In Business: An EmpowHERment Program – InnovatHER Panel” presented by TruFund Financial Services on Monday (March 26).

The award honored Chase as a role model for women entrepreneurs. TruFund says it has seen a spike in loan requests for woman business owners.

Chase says she learned how to be a successful businesswoman at a time when the rules were different for women to succeed.

“To be a good woman, you had to look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, and work like a dog,” she said after receiving her award. “So, those are the rules I came up by.”

To encourage more women to start their own businesses, TruFund has set up the Wisdom Fund, which targets women entrepreneurs, focusing on low-income and women of color.

Chase says opportunities like the Wisdom Fund prove that women have the tools they need to become successful business owners. They first need to realize they can do it.

“Just do what you have to do,” said Chase. “And, women today, they don’t understand the power. And, they don’t know how to use that power. You got to learn to use your power as a woman.”