Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger
Border Grill
Santa Monica, California
Colorful and unique, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are internationally acclaimed chefs that have been partners in the kitchen for sixteen years, a remarkable story in itself in the competitive culinary world. Together they have made significant marks on America’s culinary landscape, and were recently featured in People Magazine, on Oprah and the Today Show. But this dynamic duo has just begun to cook!
The "Too Hot Tamales" each began their cooking careers in high school (Mary Sue in Michigan, Susan in Ohio). Their paths first crossed in 1977 in Chicago’s distinguished Le Perroquet Restaurant, as the first women ever to work in that prestigious kitchen. Feniger went on to California to work with Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. They met again in France where Milliken worked at Restaurant d’Olympe in Paris, and Feniger at L’Oasis, a three star restaurant on the French Riviera. They knew then that they would work together some day.
Upon their reunion in Los Angeles in 1981, the two opened the tiny City Cafe on Melrose Avenue with only enough kitchen space for a hotplate. They quickly outgrew the little cafe. With the opening of the spacious CITY restaurant in 1984 Milliken and Feniger changed the culinary landscape of Los Angeles forever. CITY’s eclectic cuisine seasoned by their formal training and influenced by travels to Thailand, India, Mexico, and other exotic locales delighted the palates of Los Angeles restaurant goers and food critics alike. This was followed by the opening of Border Grill, and the second and current location in Santa Monica was named one of the forty best restaurants by the L.A. Times, and one of the best restaurants in America by Gourmet Magazine.
Border Grill has also been awarded the prestigious IVY award by Restaurants & Institutions. The duo has also been nominated by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chefs: California and Best Radio Show About Food for their weekly show on KCRW 89.9 FM (Saturday mornings, 11 am - noon). In 1988 they were the first women ever to receive the California Restaurant Writer’s prestigious "Chef of the Year" award, and in 1993 they were two of only sixteen chefs worldwide to be invited to cook with the legendary Julia Child in her PBS series "Home Cooking With Master Chefs".
Milliken and Feniger are active board members of many culinary associations, including a founding role in Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, which fosters the careers of women in restaurants, and Chef’s Collaborative 2000, which advocates the use of sustainably grown products in the food service industry. They contribute real leadership and time to numerous charities, notably the Scleroderna Research Foundation, for which they have spearheaded a dinner/comedy event for the last nine years, repeatedly attracting comic legends like Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin and Ellen DeGeneres.
Their cooking show, Too Hot Tamales, was named one of the "50 Great Things About Television Now", by TV Guide. The show, appearing on the TV Food Network in more than 25 million homes nationwide, premiered in October 1995 and receives more viewer mail than almost any other show on the network. Fans across the country jam the phone lines of the pair’s Santa Monica restaurant Border Grill, and sacks worth of E-mail have poured in. Their days are spent reviewing menus, writing and testing recipes, researching and planning for their TV and radio shows, and managing a busy kitchen and administrative staff. But since Milliken and Feniger love best the interaction with their customers at Border Grill, they still take time to teach classes at their restaurant, and most nights find them visiting with patrons.
With plans for more restaurants in the near future and an all-new series on the TV Food Network, these "Too Hot Tamales" show no signs of cooling off!
We hope you will enjoy these recipes adapted from their latest cookbook "Cooking With Too Hot Tamales" (William Morrow, 1997):
For More Information:
* "GOOD FOOD" is broadcast live on the radio on Saturdays from 11 am to 12 pm on KCRW (89.9 FM) in Los Angeles.
* "TOO HOT TAMALES" airs nationwide on the Television Food Network weekdays, at 8:30 am, 11:30 am, 9:30 pm and 12:30 am Pacific Time, and weekends, 1 pm and 6 pm Pacific Time.
THE BORDER GRILL RESTAURANT is located at 1445 4th Street in Santa Monica, California. For reservations and full service catering information call 310/451-1655.
You can also visit Border Grill on the internet.
