About Sue

Sue Torres has been setting the standard for gourmet Mexican fare for over twenty years. She’s a highly accomplished chef, television personality, consultant and philanthropist. Her impressive culinary career has been marked by creativity, critical acclaim, and passion for good food.

START WITH THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS

Born to an Italian mother and a Puerto Rican father, Chef Torres grew up on Long Island, where her grandparents grew vegetables in their home garden and taught her the basics of preparing meals with organic, locally grown, seasonal ingredients. Ever since, she has had a sharp eye for selecting only the best quality ingredients, which she buys directly from local producers.

MISE EN PLACE

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Torres officially earned her cooking stripes at some of New York City’s best restaurants: The “21” Club, La Grenouille, Isabella’s, Lola’s, Arizona 206, Rocking Horse Café Mexicano, and Hell’s Kitchen.

FOLLOW UP WITH THE BEST METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

She also studied with Mexican cooking authority Diana Kennedy; toured the markets of Oaxaca with Susana Trilling, a prominent cookbook author and founder of Seasons of My Heart cooking School; and apprenticed under renowned chef and food anthropologist Ricardo Muñoz Zurita in Mexico City. Adapting her training and techniques in the creative manner of a master and visionary, Chef Torres became comfortable with both traditional home-style Mexican cooking and Mexican haute cuisine, but she also became skilled in the operations of running a restaurant.

TURN THE HEAT UP

In 2003, Sue realized her dream as a chef when she opened her own restaurant, Sueños, in New York City. Her ingenious high-end dishes and cocktails earned her rave reviews as well as local and national acclaim, including The New York Times, Vogue, Food & Wine, and Bon Appétit, to mention a few. In 2004 Time Out Magazine named her Culinary Ambassador, and Working Woman Magazine included her in their list of “20 under 30” to watch.

DON’T SWEAT THE GOOD STUFF

In 2014, after the birth of her first child, Chef Torres decided to close Sueños so that she could spend more time with her family. A year later, she and her husband, Chef Darren Carbone, started a catering and consulting company offering a wide range of services from ideation to turn-key, with an emphasis on restaurants, food and beverage and the hospitality industry. Since, the wife-and-husband team has consulted on the opening of several successful restaurants in New York and Florida.

TASTE YOUR FOOD

Chef Torres’ vast talents have been showcased on national television, including Food Network’s Iron Chef America, Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, and Discovery Channel’s Go Ahead, Make My Dinner. She has also appeared as a guest judge in Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America, Rachael vs. Ray, and Chopped, and has been featured guest chef in The Best Thing I Ever Ate, My Fair Wedding, Top 10 Amazing Kitchens, The Martha Stewart Show, The Rachael Ray Show, The Today Show, and CBS’ Saturday Morning Show, among others.

SHARE YOUR RECIPES

Throughout the years, Chef Torres has contributed an endless number of delectable recipes, cooking techniques and tips to several publications, including Dr. BBQ’s

Pork Chop: 60 Recipes for Living High On the Hog, Alex’s Table Cookbook, Allison Adato’s Smart Chefs Stay Slim, Bobbi Brown’s Pretty Powerful, New York Magazine’s Cookbook In Season, Joan Schwartz’ Meat & Potatoes, Battman Studios’ Soup, Dr. Manny Alvarez’ The Hot Latin Diet, Food & Wine Magazine, Fine Cooking Magazine, and CBS’ Chef on a Shoestring recipe book, among others.

PLANT THE GOOD SEEDS

An artist of the kitchen as well as a humanitarian, Chef Torres has used her renown to serve as a role model and to actively participate in various fundraisers, like the Cystic Fibrosis Organization, Autism Speaks, SHARE Women’s Breast & Ovarian Cancer, The St. Jude Children’s Foundation, and many more. A firm believer in community relationships, she also makes time to give back to the community through children and adult cooking classes and apprenticeships. In the spring of 2011, Chef Torres was honored by the White House as “Champion of Change” for participating in the “Chefs Move to Schools” initiative, which intends to make children’s lunches more healthful and curb childhood obesity. By teaching the next generation to engage in healthy cooking and eating, Chef Sue Torres is creating a legacy that will certainly live beyond even her most brilliant recipes.