EPISODE 037: Honoring Her Past Through Food with Suzanne Barr
In this episode, Suzanne shares about her relationship with her body, culture & food. We laugh and cry through a lot of tender moments around her experiences with her mother’s death, caretaking for her in the last year of her life, and honoring her mother through her work as a chef. Join us for this beautiful conversation as we discuss cooking to create connection, honoring our past with our gifts, and the full circle experience from death to finding gratitude for the messiness & beauty of life. You don’t want to miss it.
We dive into:
Experiencing food & body shame in her youth - and her journey to healing these wounds
Her inspiration, exploration & work as a chef
Caretaking for her mother on her death bed & experiencing a lack of closure
Her powerful connection with her mother and their beautiful sacred tea ritual
Suzanne’s love letter to her mom through food
And more
Suzanne Barr has become one of the most respected and beloved chefs for her flair for fresh comfort food and also her passion for the local community, food security, and advocacy. Chef Suzanne’s career as a chef, author, social activist, and culinary mentor is inspired by both her mother and father, two novice chefs, who instilled a lifelong passion to cherish the role that food plays in both nourishing the body as well as the soul. Chef Suzanne’s expansive culinary career includes her role as the inaugural Chef-In-Residence at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Canada, owner of the former Saturday Dinette, and head chef and owner of True True diner, a diner concept that paid homage to the sites of many civil rights sit-ins and the history of the diner in breaking down segregation. What is most impressive, however, is Suzanne’s relentless advocacy for food security, marginalized communities, mental health, pay equity, nutrition literacy, and food source sustainability. Her truest form of self-expression is empowering and mentoring other women chefs. Earlier this year, Suzanne published My Ackee Tree, A Chef’s Memoir of Finding Home in the Kitchen, which takes readers on a personal journey of food, family, soul-searching, self-discovery, and even motherhood that leads Suzanne home...in the kitchen closer to her Jamaican heritage.
Suzanne’s food philosophy is simple: to create nutritious, flavorful, and comforting foods made with local, accessible ingredients.
Connect with Suzanne here:
Website: suzannebarrfood.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_barr_food/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-barr-291798178/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefbarr
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