Biography of Susanne Wilder
Chef Susanne Wilder’s culinary journey began when she won a baking contest in the sixth grade.
She says, “My mom, Joyce Wilder-Jones, told me to add orange juice to the cake batter to make it moist, and that won the contest for me. Mom always encouraged me to pursue my dreams.”
Her mother also gets credit for sending her to a creative writing class when she was 12 and jumpstarting her love for the written word.
Education
Majoring in home economics at Washington State University, Susanne also minored in journalism. This part of her education helped to fuel her drive to write. Waitressing and working as a sous chef to get through college helped prepare her to write restaurant reviews later.
When Susanne was in high school, she wrote to chef Julia Child. Amazingly, Julia answered and encouraged her to attend the Cordon Bleu in London and also trained at La Varenne in Paris.
Professional reviewer
Susanne’s first experience as a professional culinary reviewer was in 1975 when she worked as a traditional home economist at Sunset Magazine, a highly coveted if conservative job.
Part of her position was to sample and review readers’ recipes. “I would make the food and the whole staff had to sample it,” Susanne says, “Some of the dishes were great. Others needed to be washed down with a lot of wine!”
Taste panels
Del Monte’s home economics department was her next career stop. During the 1980s, she ran taste panels for new products using hedonic rating scales. Her work also included focus groups for product formulation and developing new menu items for restaurant chains.
Moving Around
A diverse palate, developed through numerous moves and life on three continents, helps Susanne write recipe, restaurant and resort reviews for newspapers and magazines. Flavour, appearance, texture, temperature and shelf-stable sturdiness (FATTS, as she calls it) form the basis for all of her reviews.
Cookbook Author
Susanne is the author of more than 20 cookbooks, published in both print and e-book formats. Some of the titles in her Wilder by the Dozen series include:
- Simple Healthy Timeless
- A Season of Soups
- Mexican Mains
- Pizzas Anytime
- International Vegetarian Dishes
- Bone Appetit!
- Best of My B&B Brunches
- Seafood
- Bhutanese Clean Cuisine
30 Minutes to Health explores the role of nutrition and lifestyle in reducing the risk of and managing degenerative diseases, with healthy recipes and practical protocols. It is available in both print and e-book formats through Draft2Digital.
Experience & Expertise
Susanne’s decades of culinary training and professional experience include:
- Recipe and product development
- Culinary and nutrition education
- Food marketing and public relations
- Guest chef appearances
- Media spokesperson and brand ambassador
- Travel and food writing for newsletters, newspapers and r
- Food service training for front-and back-of-house staff
- Consulting for television programs and DVD productions
Body surfing, aquafit, biking, kayaking, fishing and teaching Hatha Yoga for Boomer Babes are some of Susanne’s other passions.
She also enjoyed many years of in-line skating and slalom skiing, finishing first and second in races against other skaters and chefs.
Selected Clients
- Restaurants Unlimited Inc.
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New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussels
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California Avocados, Olives & Figs