Gautreau’s New Orleans

2010 “Rising Star Chef” James-Beard nominee Sue Zemanick— has been recognized in the pages of Food & Wine for her meals featuring Vidalias. Zemanick was also recognized by the magazine as a “Top Ten Best New Chef in America” in 2008.

By Salma Abdelnour, writer from Food & Wine, July 2008:

“My first impression from looking at the menu: What are pierogies doing here? Obviously we have to order them. This is either a silly joke or…wow, a stroke of genius. The chef stuffs the pierogies with wild mushrooms and potato (a classic approach) and tops them with caramelized Vidalia onion–spiked crème fraîche and asparagus (a brilliant tweak).

The onions are luxurious, and their sweetness beautifully complements the potato and mushrooms; the chunks of fresh asparagus add a pleasing crunch. Instead of innovating just for the sake of it, or doing a trendy but clichéd riff on comfort food, this chef has altered a traditional ethnic dish just enough to add an element of surprise, and cooked each component perfectly.”

“Gautreau’s (which has had 3 F&W Top 10 Best Chefs) does it again, this time with chef Sue Zemanick, a 27-year-old from Pennsylvania who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America then trained at New Orleans icon Commander’s Palace and at New York City’s Oceana.”