"The word is out that I'll trade mangos for dinners. It's a simple deal: dinner for two at Chef Allen's for a wheelbarrow of fresh Mangos. That works out to about 200 pounds of mangos and, believe me, I use every last one of them." National Mango Board spokesman, renowned author and owner of Chef Allen's Restaurant in Miami, Chef Allen Susser uses versatile mangos in many of his famous dishes. No wonder he's often referred to as "the Mango Man."

Chef Allen's cross-cultural tropical cuisine started with new world cuisine nearly 20 years ago, and is constantly evolving. His vision of what the future holds is a culinary fusion of cultures that share similar landscapes and tropical ingredients. The cuisines derived from the Caribbean, Latin America, the Pacific Rim and the tropical Mediterranean are ideal for fusion in a sweet, spicy and aromatic harmony.

He is the original author of New World Cuisine and Cookery (Doubleday, 1995), The Great Citrus Book (Ten Speed Press, 1997) and The Great Mango Book, (Ten Speed Press, 2001).

Allen Susser established Chef Allen's restaurant in 1986. Chef Allen's Restaurant has won accolades from local and national food writers: Food and Wine Magazine named Allen Susser as one of the top 10 New Chefs in America in 1991. Time Magazine called Allen's cuisine "a New World marvel". The New York Times named Allen Susser "the Ponce de Leon of New Floridian cooking" and noted that "Susser's background could be seen in his tightly focused cuisine".

After earning a degree from New York City Tech, Florida International University and the Cordon Bleu, Chef Allen worked at the Bristol Hotel in Paris, and went on to cook in fabled kitchens of Florida and New York, most notably Le Cirque. Allen Susser was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Check out a few of Chef Allen's favorite mango recipes.

• Lamb, Lime and Mango Salad
• Cinco de Mango Salsa
• Mango-rita
• Chef Allen's Tropical Mango Chutney
• Crab and Mango Salad
• Shrimp and Mango Curry
• Red Snapper and Mango Ceviche
• Crisp Mango Slaw

To learn more about Chef Allen and his love for mangos check out http://www.chefallens.com/