Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Welcome

I want to begin with my reasons for starting a food blog. I have spent 34 years in the food/hospitality industry. Since I am a self taught chef, I have made more than my share of mistakes along the way. So I decided to share some of my hard learned lessons and the expertise that I gained during all of these years.



Besides my baptism by fire in my business I have traveled a number of time to Mexico to train with noteworthy Chefs. Twice I spent a week with Susanna Trilling in Oaxaca, Mexico. She is the host of a PBS series called Seasons of My Heart and has authored and book on Oaxacan cuisine by the same name. My second visit was during Day of the Dead celebration 2010. Beyond the culinary skills she shared I had the opportunity to experience a truly exciting Mexican celebration. If you have not been to Mexico, it is well work the time and energy to get there. For more information on Susanna Trilling click this link http://seasonsofmyheart.com/



In 2009 I trained Diana Kennedy in Zitacauro, Mexico during a week of intensive chef level classes. Diana is a tough task master but has so much to share from her vast knowledge of Mexican Cooking. She is considered the "Julia Child" of Mexican cooking. She has traveled all the regions of Mexico collecting traditional recipes and publishing them in numerous cookbooks. She has also been awarded a medal by the president of Mexico spreading the soul of Mexican cuisine throughout the world. For more inofrmation on her cookbooks click this link http://www.ecookbooks.com/nsearch.aspx?keywords=diana+kennedy&x=10&y=7





To follow my culinary travels just click the Culinary Travels with Chef Suzanne tab.

I am currently teaching a wide range of topics at The Chef's Gallery in Stillwater, MN . I have cirriculums developed in the cuisines of the Southwest and Tex Mex regions, Mexico and South America, Italy, Greece and Spain. In addition, I am available to teach basic entertaining including Holiday Cocktail Parties and Dinners, Summer Brunches and Garden Parties and Winter Comfort foods. In addition I teach small private classes based on each groups interest areas and level of expertise.

I hear at every class how much students want to learn not only about food but also about entertaining. So this blog will keep you appraised about the formal classes I am teaching. To view the current and past classes I teach, just click the Cooking Classes Tab at the top of the Blog.

I am also a frequent guest Chef on the Minneapolis Kare 11 Today program in which I share recipes from my classes. It is so much fun to be a part of that entertaining but also informative program. To follow my show segments just click on the As Seen on TV tab.