Belmar Missing Its Creole Girl, Who Brought Fire To the Ragin' Cajun

She was a force of nature, known around Belmar for her Cajun cooking, her support of local causes and her conversations with customers who became like family.

Tracie Orsi Godier, who owned the Ragin’ Cajun In Belmar, died earlier this month after a battle with bladder cancer that she chronicled on her blog, cancerfreequest.com.

And as the community mourns her loss, they also say they plan to celebrate her life next month, when the annual Belmar Restaurant Tour will be dedicated in her memory.

“She was a big part of this community,’’ said Chris Brandl, the owner of Brandl Restaurant in Belmar. “It’s so sad that she’s not here.”

The 52-year-old Toms River woman died on Feb. 1 and is survived by her husband, her mother, father and step-mother, brothers, sisters, nieces, a nephew, aunts, uncles and cousins, according to her obituary.

She is also survived by a family she created at the Ragin’ Cajun, according to those who knew her. It’s a family of customers and staff, a family of local musicians and the larger community.

“Even in the face of death, Tracie Orsi Godier fought like the toughest of ‘em all,” said a post on a Facebook page, created to provide information about a gala fundraiser held last year to help her in her cancer fight. “The Creole Girl’s legacy will always be remembered as the fun loving owner of Ragin Cajun in Belmar, New Jersey. For many of us, Ragin Cajun is and always will be home. That’s how Tracie would want it and that will never change.”

Orsi Godier opened the Ragin’ Cajun in 1992. She was one of the first, if not the first, female chefs at the Jersey Shore, according to Jim Flynn, the chairman of Jersey Shore Restaurant Week.

She also brought Cajun-Creole cuisine - which, at the time, was unfamiliar to many people -- to the area, he said.

“She was really a kind of pioneer,’’ he said.

A 2009 New York Times review of the restaurant described her as a former bartender turned restaurateur, who had no New Orleans roots, but was inspired by a friend who owned a Cajun restaurant in Virginia Beach.

At the Belmar Seafood Festival, customers lined up for a taste of her alligator sausage, said Ken Pringle, the former mayor of the borough.

A visit to her restaurant was like visiting her home. The setting was intimate, said Brandl.

Sometimes, women would bring a date to the Ragin’ Cajun so they could get her opinion about the new guy, said Brandl. And Orsi Godier would serve it up: “nope,” or “yep, he’s a keeper,” Brandl said.

She was creative in her cooking, as well as other aspects of her life: she published her own cookbook and her writing appears on a number of blogs.

She was also a huge supporter of the local music scene, said Flynn.

Pringle, a lawyer who served as Belmar’s mayor from 1990 to 2010, said it’s difficult to remember a time that he did not know Orsi Godier.

His law offices used to be around the corner from her restaurant, and she was active in town. If there was a fundraiser in the community, it would be unusual if she wasn’t there, he said.

“I’ve always thought of her as a force of nature,’’ he said. “She had this enormous personality and heart.”

Brandl said Orsi Godier had energy that was contagious.

“She was free-spirited,’’ he said. “She loved life. She was full of energy, and she never backed down from any kind of challenge.”

The Ragin’ Cajun has a great following, and while she was sick, her staff and family took the reins and made sure the eatery ran smoothly, said Brandl.

The restaurant closed briefly after her death, but re-opened on Feb. 6.

“That’s what she wanted - her husband and her Ragin’ Cajun family to keep it going,’’ he said.

Photo credit: Facebook, About Creole Girl Gala: A Benefit to Support Tracie Orsi Godier