Q&A with Sue Zemanick

The chef at New Orleans’ Gautreau reveals her her passion for seafood, seasonal ingredients and New Orleans and the food she believes everyone should try in their lifetime.

After assuming the executive chef position and following the reopening, what did you do to put your stamp on Gautreau’s and its menu?

SZ: We change the menu more frequently than before Katrina. We have a lot of local regulars—some who come in twice per week—so it’s important to refresh the menu though some staples like duck confit don’t change. Seafood is sort of “my thing,” so I’ve introduced many more seafood dishes to the menu.

Where do you find inspiration for your creations?

SZ: I like looking back to the way food used to be—food that my parents and grandparents cooked—but with a twist. I’m not super trendy, but I like to update classic, old-fashioned or familiar dishes with new flavors and ingredients. It’s not comfort food, but it’s comforting.

What are your favorite ingredients or foods to work with?

SZ:  I love cooking with citrus, fresh local ingredients and seafood—crawfish, jumbo crab, oysters—basically anything in season, and living in New Orleans, it’s easy to get fresh, local seafood.

If you had to pick your favorite dish to prepare, what would it be?

SZ: I enjoy the process of making soups, sauces and stocks of any kind—starting with the flour and butter to make the roux, which serves as the base, adding each ingredient and the constant stirring to create the final product. 

New Orleans has always been renown for its phenomenal cuisine, but for many years the city was known exclusively for “New Orleans style” foods focusing primarily on local and indigenous foods. How has the New Orleans restaurant scene changed? How has the cuisine evolved?

SZ: The culture and the people are changing. Hurricane Katrina altered New Orleans a lot and it brought in new people and cultures—it’s much more diverse. Chefs are trying new things with other ingredients because people are more open to trying different foods.

What surprised you about New Orleans?

SZ: The people [locals, residents] surprised me the most. Everyone here talks about food constantly—what they just ate, where they ate, what or where they are going to eat next. It’s great!

What’s the best thing about working and living in New Orleans?

SZ: As a chef, [it’s exciting] that people research New Orleans restaurants to educate themselves before visiting—they plan where and what they are going to eat before they come here. In most other cities, tourists don’t really decide which restaurants they are going to try until they arrive.

What is your favorite thing to eat?

SZ: That’s a tough question! I love boiled seafood and fried chicken.

What is the one food you think everyone should try in their lifetime?

SZ: Pork cracklins—they’re delicious. They are a trifecta—meat, fat, crispy skin—all of people’s favorite things in one bite.