Brookes started her career as a teacher, and wrote features for her local newspaper in her spare time. She had her children at a young age, and it was not until she was 35 that Brookes embarked on her television career, before which she had taught English. In 1980, she applied for a job as a researcher, and worked on programmes for
Granada Television in
Manchester, beginning with
Live From Two, followed by
The Krypton Factor. Brookes was persuaded to do a
screen test with Oenone Williams of
Exchange Flags, a lunchtime current affairs programme for the
North West of England. It was Brookes' idea to have a cookery series "about down to earth food, not entertaining or posh food"; she was told she could present it if she did a screen test, which she agreed to. Her first programme,
On the Market, ran for four years, from 1983 to 1987, and took her around the
North of England. The series, which developed from "Talking Shop", a slot Brookes had on
Exchange Flags, focused on seasonal foods and cooking with bargain buys. In 1986, she began presenting ''Gardener's Calendar Roadshow'', a Granada production for
Channel 4.
This Morning Brookes, a former amateur theatrical, applied to be a producer for
ITV's new daytime show
This Morning, but was instead chosen to be its resident chef, to her surprise. Beginning with the first edition of the programme on 3 October 1988, Brookes was a feature on the popular show, and stayed with the programme over ten years. During this period, as her profile rose, she wrote columns for
Dalesman and
Inside Soap magazines. Brookes also appeared on
Yorkshire Television's
Tonight, and programmes for the
Granada Good Life channel. In 1995, she was the winner of the Best TV Chef in the World award at the inaugural International Festival of Gastronomy in
Deauville,
Normandy. Commenting on the award, she said: "Fancy an English chef winning a cookery prize in France! I think the British have learnt from the French through holidaying there, but while their cuisine has made us more adventurous as a nation the French have become stuck in an idea that their gastronomy is carved in stone and not to be developed." Brookes was subsequently president of the jury at the contest. Brookes has authored a number of cookery books, starting with
Brookes Cooks This Morning in 1990. The follow-up,
Truly Wonderful Puddings and Desserts (1995), made
The Times/
Dillons Bestsellers lists upon its release. Her third book, ''Susan Brookes' Yorkshire Kitchen'' (1996), had a foreword written by playwright
Alan Bennett, a fellow resident of the
Yorkshire Dales, who wrote, "Susan's recipes are for good, straightforward, tasty stuff with not a lot of time wasted on exotic garnishes or elaborate presentation.
Nouvelle cuisine it isn't, thank goodness." Brookes has since retired, but contributed a recipe to a local school's charity fundraiser book in 2007. == Personal life ==