Sue Torres

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.