• Apple and Wisconsin Aged Cheddar Bread Pudding
   
• Wisconsin Gorgonzola, Tomato and Spaghetti Squash Frittata
   
• Wisconsin Cheese Straws
   
• Greens and Wild Mushroom Pie With Smoked Baby Swiss Crust

Greg and Mary Sonnier joined WMMB's Chef Ambassador team in 2005—just prior to the hurricane that devastated New Orleans, and their restaurant Gabrielle along with it, in August of that year. But like so many of the city's impassioned food professionals and enthusiasts, Greg and Mary are determined to help rebuild the city's unparalleled restaurant scene and are knee-deep in plans to reopen.

Their new restaurant, also to be named Gabrielle, is located in a higher location and will open as soon as possible. The menu will feature the mainly modern Creole menu for which they're noted. As has been reported, however, reconstruction is a slow process in the city. The chefs own the new restaurant site—and improvements are in the works.

The Sonniers met while working as apprentices under the incomparable Master Chef Paul Prudhomme at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. It was at K-Paul's that they fell in love with the crazy restaurant business and each other. They married in 1987.

Working and learning from the Cajun icon changed their lives. "He was very demanding and tough—but it was tough love," Mary says. "It prepared us to work hard and diligently later on."

Greg left K-Paul's in 1986 to work at another acclaimed New Orleans restaurant, The Grill Room, in The Windsor Court Hotel. Then, he honed his craft as a sous chef at Brigtsen's in New Orleans while Mary worked all stations at K-Paul's, eventually becoming the head baker and finding a creative niche for herself. She left in 1988 to start her own successful catering business.

On March 10, 1992 Greg and Mary opened Gabrielle, named after their first daughter. Located in historical Faubourg St. John neighborhood, the oddly shaped triangular building was soon filled with locals craving the Sonniers' interpretation of Contemporary Creole Cuisine. Greg's dishes are a bit lighter and in many ways more delicate than the local New Orleans cuisine. He's noted for a succulent rabbit sausage. Mary is a dessert maven, turning out dreamy cakes, pies, short cakes and ice creams. She also manages the front of the house, as well as the extensive wine list.

Bon Appetit, Southern Living, Esquire, Travel & Leisure and Gourmet recognized Gabrielle many times nationally for its excellence. In 1994, Food & Wine named Greg one of the "Top Ten New Chefs in America." The restaurant's wine list had received The Wine Spectator's "Award of Excellence" since 1998.

Since joining the Chef Ambassador program, the Sonniers have been discovering the variety and craftsmanship of Wisconsin cheeses, which will highlight their menu at the new Gabrielle. "One of our most popular appetizers is a Crawfish Enchilada con Queso, and we will now use Wisconsin Monterey Jack and Cheddar for the sauce," Mary says.

"We are so impressed with the quality and selection of cheeses from Wisconsin. We used to offer a selection of fine European cheeses as a dessert option, but plan on changing that to artisan cheeses from Wisconsin.

— Chef Mary Sonnier

Unlike traditional Cajun cooking, Creole cuisine is cheese indulgent. Creole cooking was born in the kitchens of New Orleans, the couple explains, and reflects multicultural influences—French, Spanish, German and African, along with Italian and Irish interpretations.

"Those cultures come together on a plate—so there is a lot more dairy, including cheese, being used. My maternal grandmother was a really good Italian-Creole cook and she used a lot of cheese," Mary says. "One of my favorite dishes was baked macaroni. It was like mac and cheese, but with a custard base so it baked like cake. Creoles also love all dishes 'au gratin,' a style that almost always uses cheese."

She says it's really difficult to choose a favorite Wisconsin cheese, but she is partial to aged Cheddar. "The 10-year-old is just so delicious, creamy with a bit of a crunch from the crystals that have formed from aging. I love that." She especially enjoyed a tour with Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Myron Olson and standing in the room, surrounded by cheese, where the country's only Limburger is washed and aged.

The hurricane-induced lull has given the Sonniers ample time to plan the new Gabrielle, although they've kept busy cooking their way through numerous events around the country. Still, they're anxious to be back in their own kitchen where Greg will turn out his Mixed Sausage Grill with Two Sauces, BBQ Shrimp Pie and rich Oysters Gabie. Mary will gild the lily with her fresh berry or peach shortcakes, Apple Upside-down Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Sauce or fresh banana and coconut layer cakes.

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