Susan Feniger/Mary Sue Milliken
name: label: Collection Donor
content: Andrés, José, 1969-
label: Collection Donor
content: Bayless, Rick
label: Collection Author
content: Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-
label: Collection Author
content: Bush, Laura
label: Collection Donor
content: Feniger, Susan
label: Collection Donor
content: Meyer, Danny
label: Collection Donor
content: Milliken, Mary Sue
label: Collection Author
content: Obama, Barack (1961-08-04 - )
label: Collection Author
content: Obama, Michelle
label: Collection Donor
content: Pépin, Jacques, 1935-
label: Collection Donor
content: Sherman, Sean, 1974-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Julia Child Award Recipients Collection
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1984-2010
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Susan Feniger

Iconic culinarian, author, and entrepreneur Susan Feniger may be best known for her Modern Mexican concept, Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 35 years, Mary Sue Milliken. Now with locations in Downtown Los Angeles, LAX, The Huntington Library, and Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Border Grill continues to serve street food-inspired regional Mexican cuisine with a commitment to sustainability and the best quality ingredients. In June 2018, Feniger and Milliken debuted a fast casual eatery, BBQ Mexicana, at Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and later this year, they will return to Santa Monica with a new all-day Mexican restaurant. Feniger also launched her own solo ventures—Blue Window with Kajsa Alger at The Huntington Library in 2016 and to-go concept Grab & Global by Susan Feniger at both LAX and San Jose International Airports in 2018.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, she made a groundbreaking move in joining the nearly all-male kitchen at Chicago's Le Perroquet, serendipitously meeting the only other woman in the kitchen—Mary Sue Milliken. After working for Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison in L.A., Feniger went to the French Riviera to further hone her skills, and returned to open City Café with Milliken in 1981, forever changing L.A.'s culinary landscape by introducing eclectic dishes from around the world. That evolved into the larger CITY Restaurant in 1985—and the introduction of Border Grill as a simple spot for authentic home cooking and street foods of Mexico informed by the duo's treks through the country. A James Beard Award that same year confirmed their impact on the nation's cuisine.

Feniger and Milliken brought their innovative approaches to The Food Network with nearly 400 episodes of the "Too Hot Tamales" and "Tamales World Tour" series. They also were the original co-hosts of the popular food-centric radio show, KCRW's "Good Food," in L.A. Susan has co-authored six cookbooks, including Susan Feniger's Street Food and competed on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters" in 2010. The business partners received the Elizabeth Burns Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Restaurant Association in 2013 and earned induction into Menu Masters Hall of Fame in 2014. Los Angeles Times celebrated them in 2018 with the Gold Award for culinary excellence and innovation in Southern California.

Feniger is an active member of the community, and currently sits on the boards of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, L.A. LGBT Center, and L.A. Tourism & Convention Board; works closely with Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, Share Our Strength, and Human Rights Campaign; and co-founded Chefs Collaborative.

Source

The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts (https://juliachildaward.com/recipients/susan-feniger/ last accessed on April 7, 2021)

Mary Sue Milliken

Throughout a groundbreaking, nearly 40-year career, Mary Sue Milliken finds the key to her success in following her insatiable curiosity. She is best known for Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 35 years, Susan Feniger. Mary Sue seeks to amplify the flavors of amazing ingredients, surprising guests with texture and color while maintaining harmony on the plate at every Border Grill location—Downtown Los Angeles, LAX, The Huntington Library, and Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, as well as gourmet food trucks and catering. In June 2018, Milliken and Feniger debuted a grab-and-go Mexican BBQ eatery at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and later this year they'll return to Santa Monica with a new all-day Mexican restaurant.

Milliken leads with a staff- and community-forward approach with sustainability at its core. She has also witnessed the industry catch up to Border Grill in offering accessible, seasonal, ethnic cuisine, and empowering women to join the male-dominated realm of professional cooking. "We ditched the patriarchy long ago," Milliken recalls, "and took charge of our own destiny."

After graduating from Washburne Culinary Institute in Chicago, Milliken worked her way up and became the first female chef at Le Perroquet in 1978—where she soon met Susan Feniger. Following, she cooked 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. The culinary pair found further acclaim with CITY Restaurant in 1985, and captured the hearts of Angelenos with Border Grill's '85 debut, evidenced by a James Beard Award the same year.

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 uses her platform to enact societal change, serving on the boards of both Share Our Strength and the James Beard Foundation. In 1993, she joined other progressives to found Women Chefs & Restaurateurs and Chefs Collaborative, and she was later selected to join the U.S. State Department on the American Chef Corps to promote diplomacy through food in Pakistan, Malta, and Italy. Her passion for sustainability led her to work with L.A. Food Policy Council, Pew Charitable Trusts, Oxfam, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and others.

Milliken and Feniger received the Elizabeth Burns Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Restaurant Association in 2013 and earned induction into Menu Masters Hall of Fame in 2014. Los Angeles Times also celebrated them in 2018 with the Gold Award for culinary excellence and innovation in Southern California.

Source

The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts (https://juliachildaward.com/recipients/mary-sue-milliken/ last accessed on April 7, 2021)