Susan Spicer facts for kids

Susan Spicer is a famous chef from New Orleans. She owns several popular restaurants there, including a place where you can get food to go and a bakery. Susan Spicer has won many awards for her cooking. She even appeared as a special judge on the TV show Top Chef in 2009. She is a partner with Regina Keever, and they opened their well-known restaurant, Bayona, in 1990.

Susan Spicer's Cooking Journey

Starting Out as a Chef

Susan Spicer began her cooking career in the 1970s. She learned a lot from Chef Daniel Bonnot at the Louis XVI Restaurant. After that, she spent four months in Paris, France, learning from another amazing chef, Roland Durand.

When she returned to New Orleans, she opened her own small restaurant called "Savior Faire." It had 60 seats and was in the St. Charles Hotel. In 1985, she traveled to California and Europe for six months to learn even more about food before coming back to New Orleans.

Opening Famous Restaurants

In 1986, Susan Spicer opened "Bistro at Maison de Ville." Four years later, in 1990, she teamed up with Regina Keever. Together, they opened Bayona in a very old cottage in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Bayona quickly became very famous and was written about in many magazines and newspapers around the world.

From 1997 to 1999, Susan Spicer also owned a place called Spice, Inc. Here, people could buy food to take home, get fresh baked goods, and even take cooking classes. This business later became "Wild Flour Breads," which she co-owns with Sandy Whann.

In October 2000, Susan Spicer and three other partners opened another restaurant. It was a relaxed, bistro-style place called Herbsaint.

Helping Others and New Places

Susan Spicer also uses her cooking skills to help others. She supports charities like "Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation" and "Taste of the NFL." These events raise money to help people who don't have enough food.

In June 2010, she opened a restaurant called Mondo in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans. Lakeview is a special place for her because she lived there for 20 years. In October 2016, she opened another restaurant named Rosedale, which is close to City Park.

Awards and Top Ratings

Recognized for Culinary Excellence

Susan Spicer has received many important awards for her cooking. In May 1993, she won the prestigious James Beard Award. In 1995, she also received the Mondavi Culinary Excellence Award.

Her restaurant, Bayona, has also won many honors. It received the Ivy Award and was added to the Nations Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame in 1998. The New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper rated Bayona as one of the top five restaurants in New Orleans, giving it their highest rating of "Five Beans." In 2010, Susan Spicer was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as one of the most important people in American food and drink.

Television Appearances

Chef on Screen

Susan Spicer has appeared on several TV shows. She was a guest judge on the finale of Top Chef in 2009.

She also inspired a character on the HBO TV series Treme. This show was about New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The character, Janette Desautel, owned a fictional restaurant in New Orleans. In one episode of Treme, Susan Spicer was even mentioned as a friend of Janette Desautel.

In 2016, Susan Spicer appeared as herself in an episode of NCIS: New Orleans during its second season.

Cookbook Author

Susan Spicer wrote a cookbook called Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer's New Orleans. This book was nominated for "Best American Cookbook" by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. New Orleans Magazine also named it the "Best New Cookbook." Her book was chosen as one of the top 25 cookbooks of the year in a special collection called "Best of the Best."