Meet Lala Ziemski | Food TV Personality & Hotel and Restaurant Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lala Ziemski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lala, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
When starting a biz and moving to a new country there is a huge element of risk involved, a lot of unknown, a lot of learning as you go. I guess I have always assumed the risk is worth the reward. What’s the worst that could happen? If I fail, I just start again, perhaps approach it differently, gain knowledge and try again. Taking the risk has left me with such an amazing sense of accomplishment and pride. It really is the best feeling and always worth the risk.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am A food tv host/personality most recently on the show Hot Mess Express for the new So Yummy Network. I also Own a 5 room hotel and restaurant in the Caribbean which is sort of what led to me being an on camera host. Being a chef, food is my passion. Being an actress, I’m comfortable in front of the camera. Being a food personality is essentially all of my worlds colliding and it really is my dream job! It hasn’t been easy, I’ve had letdowns. Shows that get made and then don’t air….that’s always disappointing. The entertainment world is tough and you have to have thick skin. I’ve heard no so many times, but you just have to keep going….And now, production is just starting to pick back up again because of covid. I just hope when I’m on camera that my love of food comes through And people can see how much I enjoy eating, talking about and connecting over food.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It’s Los Angeles and we have some of the most diverse food communities in the country, not to mention some of the best restaurants. I always Take people to a few of my favorite taco spots. Teddy’s Red Taco and El Russo are two of my favorites are are totally different. Koreatown is also a must. Dan Sung Sa has over 99 menu items and it’s great to go with a group and share. It feels like an actual drinking den in Korea. Afterward, there is a karaoke bar in the same plaza if you’re feeling it (which I always am). Thailand is my favorite country so I will always hit one one of the many restaurants in Thai Town. If they like spice, Jitlada is great otherwise Luv 2 Eat has the best crab curry. My favorite Higher end restaurants in the city are Bestia & Bavel. Both can be a tricky reservation to get but both are fabulous. For brunch in a beautiful open space that’s part art gallery and they have chickens and an herb garden outside, I adore Manuela. Get the biscuits. My favorite neighborhood bars are Lowboy and Bar Calo. Bar Calo also has really great food for when you need something to soak up all that Mezcal. Barndall Art Park has wine tasting nights on beautiful grounds so that’s always a fun place to take a newbie and I absolutley love Cinespia at the cemetery in the summer. You can bring food and wine and have the best time before a movie outside on a blanket with friends.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My journey has never been a solo mission. I never would have been able to open The Firefly without my best friend/biz partner Ryan Kelly. I’m the ideas/creative person and he is the implementor. He’s the manual labor, he executes the vision. He also tells me if I’m crazy or if it can’t be done to which I reply, “well let’s try anyway” haha. Without The Firefly, I never would have opened my restaurant, which then I never would have started my food tv host career etc. Every producer, casting director, there are so many people that believe in me…One job leads to the next and for every person that thinks I have a cool story to tell, I am grateful as hell.

Website: www.lalaziemski.com www.thefireflybocasdeltoro.com
Instagram: @ohheylala @thefireflybocasdeltoro
Linkedin: LaLa ziemski

Image Credits
Preston Denunzio