Susan Dosier
Susan Dosier ’86, who spent years writing and editing for Southern Living magazine, grew up loving food. Her mother, a county cooperative extension agent, was a terrific cook.
“That’s what you did for people you loved,” says Susan, who grew up in Sparta. “You cooked for them.”
Her family would take their time over meals, lingering to tell stories and share laughs. Her husband, Des, quickly learned the role of food as a bonding mechanism in his future wife’s family.
“Des asked Daddy if he could marry me over a ham sandwich at our table,” she recalls.
As she prepared for college, Susan knew she would pursue one of two interests — food and writing. After considering programs at both Chapel Hill and UNCG, she settled on UNCG’s home economics program. The program was broad, offering courses in food, clothing, textile design, communication and business management.
During her junior year, as she was lining up an internship, she had an epiphany. She loved to write and she loved to cook. Why not put them together?
“It was a V-8 moment,” she says. “I decided I’d rather do a service form of journalism and write about food.”
She interned with the Greensboro News & Record and Better Homes & Garden magazine. The foods editor at Better Homes & Garden knew the foods editor at Southern Living.
When Susan graduated the next year, she had a job with Southern Living in Birmingham, Ala. They overlooked their rule of hiring writers with at least three years of experience.
She worked at Southern Living for the next nine years. She left to launch her own business and give birth to two daughters, now 11 and 13, but returned to Southern Living as executive foods editor.
A need to be closer to her family in North Carolina brought her to Charlotte. She is now director of public relations at Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy, a marketing firm that allows her to promote tourism and the state’s culinary scene. Her clients have included the N.C. Wine and Grape Council and N.C. Tourism.
“I have a natural affinity for what is happening in North Carolina,” she says. “There’s a growing interest in culinary tourism. That’s a hot trend right now. North Carolina ranks fifth in the country for culinary tourism.”
She’ll eat just about every type of food, but when it comes to her favorite meal Susan is thoughtful.
“I used to tell people that if I were asked what I’d like to eat for my last meal, it would be Lexington barbecue, sweet tea, slaw, hush puppies and my mama’s pound cake,” she says. “And now I include a North Carolina wine, a nice shiraz perhaps.”
