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CHEF NATHANIAL ZIMET
“Whenever my mentor chef served collard greens, people asked for more,” says Chef Nathanial Zimet of Boucherie. “I’d scoff, and he’d look at me like I was crazy and say ‘Anyone can cook a steak or a lobster. If someone comes in asking for your collards, you’re winning.’”
It should go without saying, then, that Nathanial’s customers typically order extra collards when they’re on the menu at his Carrollton District New Orleans restaurant. The North Carolina-born chef has called the Crescent City home for a decade, and his first solo venture, the striking purple ‘Cue Crawl food truck, demonstrated that there was a strong demand for his locally-sourced Southern-inspired food.
“To me, Southern cooking, in its purest form, is not messing with the food too much. I’m often asked why we have hamachi on the menu. That, to me, is Southern: you get the best piece of fish you can get, cut it thin, and serve it raw with very little garnish. The menu changes frequently with the availability of seasonal ingredients at the Crescent City Farmers Market, but some of Nathanial’s most popular dishes include his brisket and ribs, as well as smoked scallops, Caesar salad, and the devilishly delicious Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. During his time in the Bayou State, Nathanial has become enamored with more than a few of our prized local crops.
Each winter he looks forward to fresh citrus, and popcorn rice from Crowley shows up on his menu throughout the year. Recently, he started using Papa Tom Bonnecaze’s freshly ground grits from Baton Rouge. Behind all of that, though, is a passion for pure flavors. “If you have a bunch of cooks and they go through the motions using teaspoons instead of their hearts, that’s a big problem. Emotion is a big part of this,” Nathanial says.
Recipe
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Click here to meet the 2014 Chefs to Watch.
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