Behind the Line: Susan Goss
Topic: Your Career
Culinary School
Studying abroad. One of the golden opportunities that comes with culinary education. Have you studied abroad for anything? If so, where? And what'd you do there?
- Susan Goss
- Executive Chef/Owner
- West Town Tavern
- Chicago, IL
Interestingly I studied abroad for my first career: archeology. I spent the better part of 1978 in rural cost Rica working on pre-Mayan homesites and living with families. This really informed my culinary career. It was in Costa Rica, living with rural families and eating basically tortillas, black beans and homemade cheese with a little fish or chicken that I realized how much our culture is informed by food. What we eat, how we gather, transport, distribute and pay for that food shapes our governments and our society. Food is the basis of life. It is our most important cultural (and physical) foundation. We cannot survive without it. This understanding underlies everything I do in the restaurant business. Respect the bounty-it is all we have


