Shopping & Dining
"Bikini Chef" Susan Irby to do book signings and cooking demo at Russell Crossroads

Catherine’s Market book signing
– Saturday, July 10, 11am-2pm
SpringHouse cooking demonstration and
book signing – Sunday, July 11, 10am-1pm

Celebrity chef Susan Irby, “The Bikini Chef,” will be promoting her newest cookbook, Substitute Yourself Skinny, with book signings and a cooking demo at Russell Crossroads the weekend of July 10. The California chef and radio host has longtime ties to Lake Martin and even wrote Substitute Yourself Skinny in her parents’ cabin.

“I went to the lake for three weeks and wrote the book. It was a tremendous amount of work,” she said. “What I would do is I’d put in 10- or 12-hour days and then on my break, I’d go skiing. So, I guess you could say I wrote the book in my bikini.” The cookbook is crammed with recipes and tips aimed at cutting calories without diminishing flavor.

On Saturday, July 10, Susan will be conducting a book signing at Catherine’s Market from 11am to 2pm. The book takes traditional recipes and makes them healthier by substituting ingredients for low-fat, whole wheat or organic versions.

On Sunday, July 11, she will perform a cooking demonstration, with SpringHouse executive chef Rob McDaniel, at SpringHouse from 10am to 1pm. Part of that time will be dedicated to book signing. Copies of Substitute Yourself Skinny will be available at both events for $17.95, with 25 percent of the proceeds donated to Children’s Harbor.

Irby has trained as a chef in France, Italy and California, but speaks fondly of growing up on Lake Martin. “My family had an amazing lake cabin. It was small and simple, yet we had the best times there. It was there we ended our day of water skiing and playing on the lake by cooking in our bikinis and having dinner. We skied until sunset and were starving. We had no choice! That’s really where 'Bikini Cooking' and The Bikini Chef truly began.”

She features many of her recipes on her website, www.TheBikiniChef.com, and her radio show, The Bikini Lifestyle, which airs on CBS radio every Sunday at 8pm.

To see all events, view the Russell Lands On Lake Martin interactive events calendar >