Chef Susana Trilling, a dedicated ambassador of Oaxacan cuisine, is a celebrated chef, teacher, author, television host, and founder and director of the Seasons of My Heart Cooking School in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she has lived and worked since the late 1980s.

Susana began cooking at the age of 10, gleaning early inspiration from her grandmother, a chef from Tampico, Mexico, who ran a little fonda (restaurant) in San Antonio, Texas, and from whom she learned to make wonderfully chewy flour tortillas; crispy corn chalupa shells stuffed with pinto beans; exceptional hot tamales; and vibrant homemade jams, made with fruit from her own backyard, among many other delights.

Susana has since taught countless group and private classes, in person and online, offered food tours within and beyond Oaxaca and been profiled in many magazines, including Travel & Leisure, Saveur, Bon Appétit, EatingWell, Food Arts and Fortune. At the Oaxacan International Food & Wine Festival in 2002, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.