Susan's Story
“My parents tell me my grandfather loved taking me in to the kitchen of every restaurant when I was two years old. He wanted me to meet the chefs,” remembers Susan, “That definitely had a tremendous impact on my life because to this day, I love meeting chefs and touring their kitchens. No matter how large or small the space, there’s nothing more special than a chef sharing with you their personal work area, their creative battleground.”
Born in Marietta, Georgia, Chef Susan Irby may as well be from Alabama as that is where her fondest memories are from. “My family had an amazing lake cabin in Alabama. It was small and simple, yet we had the best times there. It was there we ended our day of water skiing and playing on the lake by cooking in our bikinis and having dinner. We skied until sunset and were starving. We had no choice! That’s really where “Bikini Cooking” and The Bikini Chef truly began.”
Susan’s chef inspiration came from her mother cooking both at home in Georgia and at the lake. “My mom was a great cook. She taught me not only the basics of cooking but that a healthy plate is a colorful plate. Each night for dinner we would have green, yellow or orange vegetables, white starches and rich proteins like beef, chicken, or pork.”
With her mother’s teachings in her heart, Susan’s passion for cooking took hold. Soon, Susan began working in premiere International restaurants under Master Chefs in Florence, Italy and France. Returning to the United States, Chef Susan began teaching cooking classes for gourmet markets and culinary schools such as Gelson’s, Whole Foods, Chef’s Inc, and Sur La Table as well as preparing dishes for the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Organization, Young President’s Organization, World President’s Organization, Bloomingdales, Los Angeles Unified School District Nutrition in the Schools program, and Saddleback Valley College, among others.
“I was suddenly a chef teaching others my secrets for enjoying gourmet foods and staying thin!” exclaims Susan, “It’s no surprise that through my classes I became known as The Bikini Chef as my recipes focus on fresh herbs, fresh citrus flavors and have been so named “figure flattering flavors”.
As The Bikini Chef, Susan has cooked for and with celebrities such as Billy Bush, Patrick Swayze, Baby Face Edmonds, David Spade, Katey Segal, James Garner, Chef Rocco Dispirito, Chef Robert Irvine, Chef Todd English, Chef Ming Tsai, pastry chef Sherry Yard, actor Dennis Cole, radio personality Bill Handel, Ritz Carlton Master Chef George McNeill, Chef Oliver Reschreiter and many more chefs, celebrities and students.
Because The Bikini Chef loves salmon so much, she even donned a custom made salmon skin bikini to promote salmon as a healthy protein on behalf of the Scottish Quality Salmon board in London, England. “That was such a great experience. I truly do eat salmon nearly everyday so I was thrilled to help Scottish Quality Salmon in their battle to improve the perception of farmed salmon.”
Chef Susan Irby loves to share her culinary and nutrition knowledge with others and has recently visited the Pitti Imagine Umo,was a guest ~ twice ~ on The Patti Gribow show, and has had published articles in the Orange County Register, LA Splash, and online.
Listen every Sunday on KFWB News Talk 980 at 8p to The Bikini Lifestyle with Susan Irby, The Bikini Chef for recipes, kitchen and fitness tips… all the tools you need to live your Bikini Lifestyle.
Chef Susan’s most recent published works, Substitute Yourself Skinny and Boost Your Metabolism both from Adams Media, are due on bookshelves nationwide this May 2010. Additionally, get your copy of $7 Healthy Meals and $7 Quick and Easy Meals (both from Adams Media) in bookstores now. Susan’s original cookbook, Cooking with Susan, Southern Family Favorites, is available at amazon.com.
To book appearances, call 310-753-3750. Thank you and make it a bikini day!
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To book appearances, call 310 753 3750 or email IrbyDerby@aol.com.
