Joanna Palmer is the assistant chef here at Chateau du Lac Bistro. Her duties as assistant to Chef Jacques are varied and sometimes difficult, but we know after hearing her story, you'll agree she's the right person for the job.

 

At the age of four, Joanna lay dying of malnutrition in a hospital in her home country of Bucharest, Romania. Unbeknownst to her, faraway in the USA, her future adoptive mother had somehow gotten the strange idea that she was supposed to adopt a daughter from Romania. Unbeknownst to his mother, her future step brother also separately had this spiritual message and had told the family. They finally connected to little Joanna through her godmother at a Romanian agency. Joanna arrived that year as an adoptee to recieve American medical care. She got better and started her new life in Orlando, Florida.

 

Ironically, the formerly malnourished child seemed to have a natural love of food, and showed a talent for cooking as early as five years old. Joanna made candies and chocolate treats and even made herself a cute little business card. Soon she followed in her father's footsteps and was helping him in his catering business. She started off as a natural French chef, slicing and dicing vegetables and cheeses. "My reward was always to see people's happy faces when they ate my cooking," she relates, beaming with a naturally warm and infectious smile.
 

Ms. Palmer was accepted to study at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. After her graduation, she moved to a city well known for its excellent cuisine, New Orleans, and did her externship at Commander's Palace. There she was responsible for the training, food ordering and management of the kitchen staff; also she was cooking entrees and working as their pastry chef. It's no wonder she is now working here at Chateau du Lac and training under the tutelage of our famous Chef Jacques Saleun!

 

Joanna's favorite food is scallops. "More than anything in the world." She loves to go to the market on her off time and pick out random food items so she can turn them into her own special creations. One day Joanna hopes to open her own restaurant, but for now her passion is working in the kitchen at Chateau du Lac and seeing her work making our customers smiling and happy.