Growing up in the Lakefront area in New Orleans, Stephen Guilbault lived just four doors down from chef Emeril Lagasse. When Guilbault was 16, he was invited into the kitchen during a walk with his dog. Lagasse was cooking that night and asked Guilbault to assist as a taste-tester. They hung out for two hours that night.
It was a one-off experience, but over 30 years later, Guilbault still remembers the menu: barbecue shrimp, souffle bread pudding, banana cream pie and crabmeat crawfish au gratin.
Guilbault began his culinary career at Vincent’s Italian Cuisine in Metairie a few years later, when he was 18. After an unconventional career path, he opened his Italian restaurant in Prairieville, Stefano’s, last August, where he serves up his take on Italian dishes inspired by home cooking and restaurants that helped him hone his craft.
Spaghetti and meatballs at Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville pictured on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Javier Gallegos
The name Stefano’s is an homage to a nickname he got while working in kitchens. Vincent’s sous chef at the time was from Sicily and refused to call him Stephen. He was always Stefano. Later on, the sous chef at Emeril Delmonico (also from Italy) was the same way.
At 30, Guilbault stepped away from the restaurant business and worked in the health care industry instead, setting up clinics for physicians. He spent about 15 years in this role, but his heart was still in cooking.
“I was kind of miserable,” he admitted.
The patient interaction part was fun when he got to do it, he said, but the logistical part of the business, chasing money from insurance companies, just wasn’t his passion.
Shrimp Jenny, garlic knots and shrimp Amelia at Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville pictured on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Javier Gallegos
According to his wife, Jenny Guilbault, coming back and opening a restaurant had always been the plan; it was just a matter of finding the right place.
The making of Stefano’s
So in January 2024, he started looking, and in the span of three months, he looked at 25-30 locations near Gonzales where he and his family live now. The one he settled on at 17188 Airline Highway was far from homey and inviting
“It was disgusting,” Guilbault said of the space when he first started renting. “ I had to get on my hands and knees and scrape all the grout lines and get all the gunky residue out. … Just make it smell like a normal place again.”
The walls were a terrible pea-green color with a weird yellow, both Guilbaults recalled, but it had good bones. There was a walk-in cooler and a hood in the kitchen — things that would’ve cost thousands of dollars to furnish themselves. With the help of his wife and daughter, Stephen Guilbault picked a new color for the walls — Tiffany blue — and they all painted together.
A spread of entries seen inside the small interior of Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Javier Gallegos
After four months of preparation, Stefano’s officially opened in August 2024. They have been slowly building the menu up.
“It’s a simple menu,” Guilbault said.
But he’s been refining the dishes. They have 14-inch pizzas, a selection of various pastas, and an appetizer menu. The portions are huge. All meat dishes come with 12 ounces of meat. That means the chicken Parmesan ($19) comes with two chicken breasts. Each pasta dish is designed to create some leftovers.
“He likes to give people a little something to take home,” Jenny Guilbault said.
After 11 months in, Stefano’s is making its mark on the culinary scene in Prairieville. His two signature dishes are the Shrimp Emilia, and the off-menu special, the Shrimp Jenny. It’s a bowtie pasta dish named after Guilbault’s wife, and based on the Shrimp Roban at Semolina’s before it closed. Guilbault worked there for many years and made the pseudo-spicy Alfredo sauce for the dish, which was also his wife’s favorite when she patronized the restaurant before they met.
Shrimp Jenny at Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville pictured on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Javier Gallegos
This version, according to her, is better, and it’s her favorite thing on his menu.
“It (the Shrimp Roban) didn’t have quite the hardiness and the backbone to it, so I was like, I take the shrimp real bland and just kick it up five notches,” he said. “I added the paprika. I added the fresh black pepper, added all these other spices and green onions to it. I knew it would give it that earthy backbone and have a semi-Asian inspired feel to it.”
What’s next for Stefano’s?
These days, Guilbault arrives at 6:30 or 7 a.m. to do prep work: pre-portioning pasta, chopping vegetables, and making the parts of dishes that can’t be made to order, like lasagna, meatballs and certain sauces. He works 60-70 hours a week. On Saturdays, he’s there at 6 a.m. to receive his deliveries, and he’s typically there until 8:30 p.m.
Sous chef Lance Manno adds spices to a pasta dish in front of the giant pot of tomato sauce on the back burner at Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville pictured on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Javier Gallegos
Sometimes people ask why the restaurant closes so early, said Jenny Guilbault, but they don’t see how early Guilbault has to be there to maintain the hours of operation that they have. Still, as of the writing of this article, they’re expanding their hours.
As the owner and head chef, Guilbault has started mentoring young chefs himself. He found his sous chef, Lance Manno, via a Facebook advertisement. Manno, in his mid-20s, said that he appreciates Guilbault for giving him room to grow. He has aspirations to be an executive chef one day.
On the business side, Guilbault loves his little restaurant with five tables. (Dinner reservations are a wise choice). Maybe if things pick up, he’ll look for a bigger spot one day, but for now, he’s focused on executing the menu well and mentoring his proteges.
Owner Stephen Guilbauot dollops minced garlic to a sheet of dough while making garlic knots at Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville pictured on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Javier Gallegos
“ If you’re not putting love into your food, it’s like, what’s the point?” he said.
Stefano’s Authentic Italian, 17188 Airline Highway, Suite L, Prairieville, is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Call (225) 673-1270 for information.
Dining and Cooking