Cooking Zen


	Chef Zane Smith Chef Zane Smith has had an interest in food his whole life. He credits his mother with honing his versatile palate at a young age. Once he made the decision to go to culinary school in Atlanta, GA, the rest was history. There are many culinary geniuses who have influenced him along the way, Jonathan Waxman, David Gingrass and Wolfgang Puck who he worked with for 2 years. His tastes as a chef range from his Grandmother’s Southern home cooking (Bet you didn’t know grits could taste so good!) to his constantly changing locale as a young chef (NC to CO to CA to NY, just to name a few.) His last stop and current home, Long Island, NY has brought him much success as the executive chef of the popular Wild Honey Restaurant in Oyster Bay and the executive chef/co-owner of Wild Harvest Restaurant in Glen Cove. His latest inspiration comes from his interest in his own health, and more importantly, making healthy food taste good. “When faced with my own health issues, I came to a realization that I had to change the way I eat. But as I went through this process, I began to realize I had an advantage because I am a chef. Other people’s complaints of healthy food being bland and unsatisfying were not as much of a problem for me. But realistically, anyone can eat healthy without sacrifice.” His passion for cooking merged with his new focus on mindful eating has lead him to Cooking Zen.