I’m Suz...

As former editor for the UK’s biggest women’s lifestyle mag (Good Housekeeping) and recipe columnist (Daily Mail) I’m an expert at writing simple, reliable recipes to inspire even the humblest home cook. I create fun cooking videos packed with pizazz that are aimed to inspire people to cook something new or at the very least, crank up their kitchen disco. I’ve been called wholesome AF and, ‘a bit like a millennial Mary Berry’ (by my Mum).

That’s me in a knobbly wallnut shell but also I do love a tangent (and a pair of brackets)…

My creative path into food media began after graduating from Manchester University with a 1st class BA degree in Drama and Film. I worked on high profile TV shows and at an ad agency producing big-budget commercials but my creative hunger and love for food led me to retrain at the prestigious Leiths School of Food & Wine in London. I then landed my dream jobs working as a food stylist, recipe developer and food editor. I wrote food features and contributed to many of the UK’s favourite food stand titles and have been lucky enough to interview some of the best loved cooks of our time such as Yottam, Jamie & Heston. However I’m most proud of having the guts to create my irreverent cookery videos where my personality gets a chance to pop. I love performing in a role but the idea of putting my own recipes out there, with my voice and on video filled me with dread. They’re a creative culmination of my unwavering love for food, TV storytelling & editing experience and most of all my quest to find the fun in anything.

I live to entertain and host a good time, so I’ve naturally created businesses that centre around good food too. On moving to LA 7 years ago and feeling pretty bloody homesick tbh, I healed my homesick heart (in part) by cooking British food for other expat friends. Their cries for more sausage rolls, scones and sticky toffee pudding sparked me to join forces with my LA bestie (a fellow Brit) and create Crumpet, an LA-based catering company specializing in British afternoon tea and grazing spreads. Our neon pink Crumpet sign and a table groaning with my authentic afternoon tea & British treats would pop up at celebrity parties across Hollywood & LA. A personal life goal was being asked to create a Crumpet afternoon tea for Mary Poppins herself in real-live Dame Julie Andrews’ dressing room (it had to be PG Tips in case you’re wondering). I also co-own beloved East London restaurant, Bombetta, described by revered food critic Grace Dent as ‘ever so slightly the bomb’.

As a British food writer living in Los Angeles I’ve had to nail recreating British recipes using American ingredients. I’ve had to perfect the ultimate scone recipe without our beloved UK self-raising flour to hand (no mean feat). Don’t get me started on the joys of grass-fed European butter vs American grain-fed (it has to be Kerrygold every time). And if you want a bloody good British banger, I have an LA sausage dealer for you.

Fun and frivolous food aside, I’m mostly creating family food for my long suffering husband and two kids (and yes it’s frozen chicken nuggets 50% of the time). I found parenting bloody awful, utterly lonely and terrifying at the start. Thankfully my kids taught me to the importance of play which is the key to unlocking the funhouse of creativity, ideas & inspiration inside us all - a belief I champion in all my silly videos & fun recipes.