Other
Susan Notter
Pastry chef
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Born in Birmingham, England, and trained at culinary school in England, Susan Notter came up in pastry as a discipline first: repetition, control, and the ability to work cleanly under pressure. She has said, "I was born in Birmingham and grew up in the north." On sweets that first held her attention, she reduces the point to its working logic: "The only way to have them was to make them."
The Path
The bench work started in Germany, where Susan Notter was a pastry chef and confectionery trainee at Konditorei Heinmann. From there, she moved through Confiserie Bachmann in Luzern, Switzerland, and Confiserie Honold in Zurich, Switzerland, working as a pastry chef and chocolatier in kitchens where precision is the baseline, not the selling point. That early European run established the technical range that would carry through the rest of her career. Teaching entered the picture when Susan Notter became a teacher and demonstrator of pulled and blown sugar at International School of Confectionery Arts. That work shifted the craft from execution to transmission: not only making the piece, but breaking down the process for others. Pulled and blown sugar became one of her defining specialties, a medium that asks for speed, temperature control, and a steady hand. She later served as Corporate Pastry Chef at Albert Uster Imports, bringing that technical range into a role tied to product knowledge and professional standards. Birmingham, Alabama, became the next stage when Susan Notter took on the role of director of Pastry Arts at Culinard. The position pulled together the parts of her background—pastry, chocolate, sugar, demonstration, and instruction—into curriculum and day-to-day leadership. Today, Susan is USA Sales Professional of Max Felchlin AG, continuing to work where ingredients, pastry practice, and the professional trade meet.
The Work Today
Today, she is pastry coach for the USA Culinary Olympic Team. The role fits a career shaped by repetition and pressure: bench work, teaching, demonstration, and competition prep. Pulled and blown sugar remains central to that work, a specialty that carries over from classroom to contest stage with little margin for error. Susan’s practice sits at the intersection of technique, product knowledge, and sustained discipline. The through line is not novelty; it is accumulation—years of training, years of teaching, and years of refining the same core skills until they can be handed on to others.
In Their Words “The only way to have them was to make them.”
Acclaim
Susan's honors include Culinary Olympics, 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal, ACF Gold medal at Regional Pastry Chef of the Year; National Pastry Champion, 1st International Pastry Queen Competition, 3rd place, ACF Cake Decorating Competition, 1st place, National Team Pastry Championship, 4th place, and Beaver Creek Wedding Cake Competition, 1st place.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Susan
What is Susan Notter's current role?
As of 2026, Susan Notter is Pastry coach.
Where did Susan Notter work before?
Susan Notter's earlier career included Konditorei Heinmann, Confiserie Bachmann, and Confiserie Honold.
What recognition has Susan Notter received?
Culinary Olympics, 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal (2016).
