school. I couldn’t wait to start my
career and get out of there.”
Zemanick was always totally clear
about what she wanted, where she
wanted to do it and how. First, she
went to The Culinary Institute of
America in Hyde Park, N. Y., then
to New York for an internship at
Oceana, where she studied seafood,
further perfecting her chosen
specialty. After a Fourth of July trip to
New Orleans, Zemanick decided to
move there in 2003. Her culinary rise
has been as spectacular, explosive and
fast as fireworks.
Within two years she had moved
from grill cook at Commander’s
Palace to grill cook, then sous chef,
at Gautreau’s under Mat Wolf, to
Gautreau’s executive chef in 2004.
When Hurricane Katrina closed
Gautreau’s for 1½ years, she did
private cooking for her regular
clientele. In 2007, Zemanick
was back at the helm of the same
restaurant in the same city that
had given form and focus to the
pent-up emotions she had
experienced as a girl cleaning bar
counters and being grounded.
age.” Recently, she donned an
afro and a shiny red jumpsuit,
masquerading as a member of Soul
Train. Her marionette costume
shows a soulful young woman
who knows the sadness of being
controlled. And for her unicorn
costume, Zemanick sported
styrofoam hoofs plus a mane and
tail made of fake beauty-salon hair
provided by a friend who makes wigs.
“My friends are all proud to fly their
freak flags,” she says, noting how
everyone in New Orleans loves to
dress up. “In New Orleans everyone
is friends, everyone gets along.
My friends are five to 10 years older
than me, but we’re all the same
Among current items on her
menu is foie gras in a torchon with
strawberry/rhubarb jam and candied
pistachios, coupling lushness, acidity
and crunch. A tender red snapper
with a Creole mustard vinaigrette,
chanterelles, corn and double-fried
Brabant potatoes plays off softness
against crunch, “just like me,” she says.
A highly competitive, disciplined
chef, Zemanick keeps rising and
expanding her talent in the Big Easy.
top: Pickled baby beet and
arugula salad, honey goat
cheese, candied walnuts
and citrus vinaigrette
bottom: Lemon pound cake,
huckleberry ice cream and
toasted pistachios
