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Spicer returned from France to become the executive chef at the Savoir
Faire restaurant in New Orleans, where she cooked for celebrities such
as Clint Eastwood. In 1985, after three years at Savoir Faire, she took
a Wanderjahr and traveled extensively through Europe and California.
In 1986, as
chef, Spicer opened the Bistro at Maison de Ville, and in 1990, as owner,
she opened Bayona. Spicer started receiving media acclaim in 1989 —
and the good reviews keep coming in. In 1989, she was featured in Time
and Esquire magazines, and Food & Wine named her one of its "Ten
Best New Chefs." Gault-Millau named Bayona among its "Top 40
Places to Dine in the U.S.", and she was honored at the James Beard
Foundation "Rising Star" Dinner in 1991, and again as the "Best
Southeast Chef" in 1993.
She believes
that in American cuisine, "trends develop through products as they
become available." Some of her favorite flavors include citrus zest,
soy sauce, Indonesian sweet soy sauce ("I lived in Holland as a kid,"
she says), curry pastes, lemon verbena and chives. And she finds birds
— quail, pheasant, duck, chicken, turkey — among the most versatile
products to work with.
Spicer made
"Bayona Crispy Smoked Quail Salad" and "Beef Tenderloin
Stuffed with Herb Cream Cheese, with Sauce Bordelaise" on Great Chefs
of the South.
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