Check Out Susie Jimenez’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susie Jimenez.

Hi Susie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Imagine the book “The Grapes of Wrath”. That is almost my life as a child. Every year my life consisted of living in Mexico for six months and then traveling to the US working in different farms as we headed North. From cherry and peach picking, to the grape vines to prune. It was a lifestyle I was used to for many years. Each camp had all the houses in rows, they had the same layout and the families would come from all over Mexico to get their hands on the crops and of course to make money. Once we got done with a farm, we headed to another. We all drove in vans, each one with their own family and followed each other to each location. I grew up with my cousins on the road, until our parents were able to settle down in an area and afford a home. Even after they bought their house, it was cherry, peach, pear or pruning season. As kids loved the Summers because they got to go to the pool, have fun. I hated it because it meant I had to either babysit babies or go pick some kind of fruit in the scorching 90 degree weather. When I was 16 years old, I finally decided no more fields and went to work at an ice cream parlor where sadly I got paid twice what my father did to do very hard work.

I was born into a huge family with so many tias (aunts) that all cooked something good, that were loud and full of personality. I was lucky enough to have met my great grandmothers and spent a lot of time with my grandmothers, mom and tias. I observed how they made sauces, tortillas, meats and clean needles off of cactus. My dad’s mom would throw corn in her courtyard to dry and my cousins and I had to peel the corn off the cob for her so she can make her masa from scratch. If you wanted milk, you went to grandma Chole’s house to get it right from the cow. It was a life that as a child I did not understand and may have not appreciated, but it definitely molded me into the person I am now and the chef that I am.

I felt like I was always destined to be a chef but that was not something my family understood at the time. It was something a women had to do for her family, cook. But I didn’t want to be a “cook”, I wanted to have food be an art and showcase the beautiful flavors it had and delicate textures that needed to be created in order to be a whole dish. So that became my mission. Mexican food is not fajitas and queso.

Off to culinary school in San Francisco I went. Determined.

I graduated and moved to Aspen for what I thought would be a Summer but 20 years later, I’m still here. I cooked in restaurants, I became an executive chef at the age of 23 years old, I taught cooking classes, I owned a restaurant in Texas and now I have traveled to get more knowledge of technique and dishes overall. What I love about traveling is not only the incredible things you get to experience but as a chef, you just never stop learning. There will always be someone in this world that will teach you something. I know I had it in me to become the best I could and I ended up on Food Network Star Season 7. I auditioned in Denver a few years back and ended up on the show and got runner up. Pretty amazing having gone through all of those challenges. From making a pizza your own to Iron chef with lobster being my challenge. I went on to do other shows ~ compete against kids, cooked with Latin women in Argentina, cook with wild game on the Sporting Chef. I love what food does for people, they come together and discover flavors and laugh around the table creating memories. My catering business is my main focus now as one busy spicy chef.

I just bought a home in Mexico, not only because I love this country, but also because I want to emerge myself into my favorite cuisine that I grew up with and bring back my child hood memories.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think it’s ever a smooth road to do anything in life. Not only having a traditional family that could not understand the direction I was going in, but I was also a female in a male dominated world. When I started my internship, I couldn’t believe the way the men were. They either treated me like garbage or they flirted so much, that it was uncomfortable. I constantly had to prove to people and myself that I was great at what I did. Each chef has their thing, we are all not the same but we are equal in the kitchen. Then came the struggle of trying to figure out what I wanted from culinary school. To own a restaurant, be a teacher, be a line cook, caterer, book writer or a tv personality. Well, I did it all except for the book. Putting yourself in different scenarios definitely helps you discover who you are and what you want. But you have to learn each scenario and with each one comes a different challenge. While I was in school, my father passed away. That was one of the hardest obstacles I had to deal with but it was also the one thing that pushed me to do the best I could with what I have decided. I worked really hard and still do, to make him proud, to make his legacy proud.

Now my struggle is how to balance life with the amount of work I have all the time. If I wanted to, I could work all year round but what would be the purpose of working so hard if I couldn’t enjoy life. My dad told me before he passed, that you will not take any of the materialistic things with you when you die, but you can take memories. So that’s what I’m doing now. I’m sure there will be other struggles, but life is about overcoming those and going for a ride.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think food is important to be made with love. It’s so cliché, but its true. You can tell the difference when it’s made this way because you are balancing flavors, textures and techniques to create a dish. It might just be tacos or it might be a lemon Meyer foam. It doesn’t matter, they all need this attention. I have tried to balance my past with my present by creating latin fusion dishes. The latin blood will always be within me and I love everything about Mexican flavors. I also love the world and all of it’s flavors, so why not combine them. I am very proud of the fact that I have always placed a bit of me in each dish. I have had clients ask for just a steak or hand me a recipe and want me to do it. I always have, but I feel confident that I can create something with a twist and it’s always been something they have all been pleased with. I have created so many ideas and recipes from “mistakes” but I have embraced them and turned them into new ideas. I think it’s important when you decide to be a chef, to always stay being you in each dish that you plate. To be bold enough to put something out there. I had a client that was super super-wealthy tell me that I didn’t make mole sauce the way he has had it. He questioned me, he tried to not pay me ~ BUT, I put my foot down and expressed that every region in Mexico has a different way of making this delicate sauce. There are hundreds of ways of making it, so unless he wanted to have a conversation with my grandmother, he needed to keep his comments to himself and pay up. It felt great, but I also realized that everyone thinks Mexican sauces like the mole is the same way. This wants something inside of me to keep teaching people, to keep learning myself. In the end, I will never learn or experience every dish in this world. But I’m going to eat my way through life and take in as much as I can.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My mom had a corn mill in her backyard that she used to make masa. One day, I asked my mom to take me to the flea market to get fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro and the rest of the ingredients to make a ceviche. So she did. I got the fish, but I had this great idea to par freeze it and then throw into the corn mill so it could grind up vs me chopping it all up. So I did, I also marinated in fresh lime juice, chopped my veggies and got my tostadas ready for the family to come over. When the family comes over, it’s a full-on party of 50+ guests. When my mom came outside and saw her mill had had fish in it, she threw a fit and was super upset with me. Of course, I cleaned it up but this mill was not for fish she said. I was upset because I had really tried and who wants their mom upset with them. Well, I made the best ceviche ever, everyone was raving and loving it. Giving my mom props but little did they all know it was me that made it. My mom didn’t get a chance to try it while everyone was telling her how delicious it was. She told them, I didn’t make it, it was Chani (this is what they called me as a kid). Then she did try it and was blown away. She came up to me later that night and told me I was welcomed to use her mill anytime I wanted. To think at this age I was 13 years old, I already had a plan and palate like I did.

Contact Info:

• Email: susiespiceitup@gmail.com
• Website: www.susiejimenez.com
• Instagram: @spiceitupsusie
• Facebook: @susiejimenez
• Twitter: @spiceitupsusie

Image Credits
Food network Carrie Ann lausier Sabores de Familia Quy Tran Photography Susie Jimenez