Chef Suzette's Awards
About Us...
Vegan Suzette’s Gourmet Tropic Bakery is the creation of Chef Suzette and her mother, an award-winning baker. When her mother was diagnosed with severe food allergies to wheat and dairy, the pair set out to create fabulous gluten-free, dairy-free recipes. It is incredibly difficult to get gluten-free, dairy-free batter to rise properly without using Xanthan or eggs, but Suzette and her mom perfected it! Suzette has been called a “food scientist,” because she created her own proprietary recipes with a precise, scientific formula to balance acids in the organic ingredients without using eggs or milk. Try our fabulous plant-based allergy-friendly treats, and you will be hooked!
The early stages of her baking career began years ago, when Chef Suzette won a baking contest with updating her Grandmother’s recipe for a “skinny” version of fabulous Flourless Fudge Cake (still on our menu today, seasonally).
After that win, Suzette decided to follow her true passion of cooking and left her job in a Chicago law firm. Suzette wanted to make people happy with cupcakes - And, as Suzette says, "It is a much different reaction if you say to someone, ‘Here's a cupcake,’ versus ‘Here's a subpoena.’ ”
So, in a quest to bake people happy, she went to Europe to expand her dreams of baking professionally. Fluent in French, she studied pastry making with some of the greatest chefs in France, Germany and England.
Suzette came back to the US and began a prolific career as one of the top Food Journalists in the country (see highlights of her articles featured in our “Press” section). With her recipes and articles published in many prestigious magazines, her real break came when she won the award for "Best Salsa in Arizona," and her vegan salsa was served on the menu at over 14 restaurants in Arizona and Las Vegas.
From that win, her fabulous salsa continued to grow. Chef Suzette has won numerous other awards for her culinary creations, including "Best Cranberry Cookie" from the Cranberry Association and "Best Chocolate Pastry" from the European Chocolatiers Assn. During the pandemic, Suzette and her Mom were living together. When her Mom developed more food allergies, Suzette sought a solution to Mom's gluten-intolerance and her lactose dairy allergies. Suzette baked everyday, all day, trying to modify recipes for her Mom, to be wheat-free and completely dairy-free and egg-free. Her Mom was the taste-tester and loved the results. Suzette's Vegan Hemp Fudge Brownies are definitely award-winning with delicious clean ingredients. They are free of all major FDA food allergens - no wheat, no dairy, no eggs - created for Suzette's Mom - and Moms (& kids) everywhere!
As a vegetarian for many years and with her training as a certified nutritionist, Suzette is dedicated to making sure all the bakery on the menu at Vegan Suzette’s is not only delicious, but wholesome for your family - with no artificial colors, preservatives or flavorings. Suzette's food philosophy is that "Everything going into your body should taste good and be good for you!" As a pioneer in the "mindful food movement," Suzette believes in "no empty calories," so Vegan Suzette‘s food is prepared to be as low in calories with nutritional benefits. Proudly serving many happy fans over years in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
