Chef Sue Zemanick on recently winning a Michelin star, marrying fresh gulf seafood with her family’s Slovakian home cooking, and the wonders of caviar on pasta episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 27, 2026 · 37 MIN

Chef Sue Zemanick on recently winning a Michelin star, marrying fresh gulf seafood with her family’s Slovakian home cooking, and the wonders of caviar on pasta

from Culinary Characters Unlocked · host Culinary Characters Unlocked

Sue Zemanick decided she wanted to become a chef when she was fourteen and began cooking professionally at fifteen. Her love of  seafood, nurtured at the Culinary Institute of America, brought her to New Orleans, where she worked at Commander’s palace and Gautreau’s, where she rose from line cook to Executive Chef, before opening her own place, Zasu, creating a menu featuring seafood, global flavors, and multiple variations of the pierogies her grandmother used to make. The night Zasu won a Michelin star she wasn’t at the ceremony—she was working, which she says was a good thing since diners immediately rushed in and the kitchen was slammed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Chef Sue Zemanick on recently winning a Michelin star, marrying fresh gulf seafood with her family’s Slovakian home cooking, and the wonders of caviar on pasta

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