Mary Sue Milliken is an award-winning chef, cookbook author, food activist, media personality, and co-owner of Mundo Hospitality Group along with her business partner Susan Feniger.  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 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.