Memphis chef to be guest at ASU experimental foods class

Chef Felicia Suzanne Willett of Felicia Suzanne’s Restaurant in Memphis will be a guest chef in the nutrition lab at Arkansas State University, Tuesday, April 12, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in room 400 of the Eugene W. Smith Hall, 106 N. Caraway Road.

Willett, a native of Jonesboro, will be a part of the experimental foods class in the dietetics program. The event is open for the students in the program along with special guests.

“Our program is very honored to welcome Felicia as a special guest in our lab next week,” said Pam Towery, nutritional science program director. “We anticipate this visit will be a great learning experience for our students.”

Willett began as a child with a lemonade stand and then made cheesecakes at 12 years old. Following her culinary training at Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, S.C., she sought out an internship with Chef Emeril Lagasse. After working for Chef Lagasse for eight years, she began to branch out by creating authentic Southern entrees and side dishes and soon became the chef of her own restaurant, now in its 13th year.

In 2015, Willett was named Executive of the Year at the Memphis Business Journal’s Small Business Awards ceremony. She also developed a product line called Flo’s Homemade Goodness that includes pepper jelly, tomato jam, chow chow, and bread and butter pickles.

The ASU dietetics program is a part of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Dietetic students study a variety of subjects, ranging from food and nutrition, food service systems management, psychology, sociology and communication, to science courses such as anatomy and physiology, chemistry and biology.

For more information, contact Pam Towery at [email protected] or by calling (870) 680-8598.