How does sustainability affect our food systems, and how does that affect the restaurant business? Join famed Los Angeles chef Mary Sue Milliken for an evening of exploration!
Milliken is a James Beard and Julia Child Award-winning chef, cookbook author, media personality, and co-owner of Mundo Hospitality Group (Border Grill, BBQ Mexicana, Pacha Mamas, SOCALO, and Alice B.) with her business partner Susan Feniger. After becoming the first female chef at Chicago’s top French restaurant, Le Perroquet, in 1978, Milliken went on to work at the woman-owned, two-Michelin-star Restaurant D’Olympe in Paris, before rejoining Feniger in L.A. to launch City Café in 1981, applying French techniques to unfamiliar dishes from around the world. Milliken and Feniger brought their innovative approaches to The Food Network with the “Too Hot Tamales” and “Tamales World Tour” series, along with the Los Angeles’ popular food-centric radio show, KCRW’s “Good Food.”
In 2011, Milliken competed on season three of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” and won $40,000 for her chosen charity, Share Our Strength. She has also co-authored five cookbooks. Milliken is passionate about food policy and works with nonprofits around the world to bring her expertise to help shape sustainable food systems. Milliken also serves on the Board of Trustees for the James Beard Foundation, as a member of the U. S. State Department’s American Chef Corps, and is a co-founder of Regarding Her.
Chef Milliken’s talk is part of the Roberts Environmental Center’s Sustainable Food Initiative 2024-2025.
