“We bring the boil to you. I’m an at-home chef. I really love doing my seafood boils.”

Suzy Brown

BY STEPHANIE SHOMIN

sshomin@record-eagle.com

CHARLEVOIX — Charlevoix resident Suzy Brown is a bookkeeper with a hospitality background, but in the summer of 2020, she decided to try a seafood boil.

“I was doing a birthday boil at my house for family and friends,” she said. “They needed a place to eat.”

Brown said this was a good way to “feed a lot of people” during COVID-19 dining restrictions. In 2020, she said, she and others were not allowed to visit their summer homes in northern Michigan. She started the boils downstate and when restrictions were lifted, continued them up north.

She said word spread on social media and within about a week, she was able to start Suzy’s Seafood Boils. Though she is based in Charlevoix, Brown serves all of northern Michigan and has some clients downstate.

“We bring the boil to you,” Brown said. “I’m an at-home chef. I really love doing my seafood boils.”

Brown prepares the meal on site and then dumps the pot out on a plastic-covered table at the guests’ chosen dining time. Shrimp, corn, sausage, potatoes and onions are cooked together. The shrimp is deveined, so the shell comes off, she said.

“It’s like the one-pot wonder,” she said.

The meal is served with biscuits and butter. Each guest gets a bib and silverware, though Brown said most people eat with their hands.

“It’s a fun, communal dining experience,” she said. “There

SEE BOIL PAGE 2B

Suzy Brown, right, helps carry a pot with seafood boil ingredients.

Special to the Record-Eagle/Suzy’s Seafood Boils

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are so many great families.

Every one is a memory.”

Her crew arrives two hours before dinner and stays afterward to clean up and package any leftovers, Brown said.

“We provide everything they need to enjoy the meal,” she said.

Glen Arbor residents Jennifer and Dan Szeezil have booked Suzy’s Seafood Boils for three summers now. Jennifer said their friend downstate recommended Brown.

They host an event for 3040 friends each year.

“It’s our new tradition,” Szeezil said. “It’s a great way to host something without doing all that work.”

She added that the boils are a break from the traditional summertime barbecues and grilled meals.

“It’s a unique and creative party concept,” she said.

Suzy’s Seafood Boils can serve 12 or more people.

Prices start at $39 per person. Lobster tail, crawfish and crab legs can be added.

To schedule or for more details, visit www.bookaboil. com or contact suzy@bookaboil. com.

Suzy’s Seafood Boils has made a meal for an event in Glen Arbor.

Special to the Record-Eagle/Suzy’s Seafood Boils

Suzy Brown started Suzy’s Seafood Boils in 2020 and continues to serve the northern Michigan area.