By Jacqueline Ghosh

November 2, 2023

Susan Feniger at work. Image courtesy of ForkedTheFilm.com

A venture into the restaurant business is nothing short of a trial by fire. Infamous for cut-throat drama, audiences devour TV shows and movies that depict the triumphs and failures of culinary artists. Between crafting a menu, financing a business, building a restaurant, and managing staff, restaurant owners face countless challenges when starting out. Then comes Susan Feniger, a gifted and ambitious chef, who jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with a smile.

Feniger’s career began in the cafeteria of her undergraduate university. After encouragement from the cook, she decisively retired from three years of economic study to finish her degree at the Culinary Institute of America. She landed her first prestigious position at a famed restaurant in Chicago where she was the second female hired in the kitchen after Mary Sue Milliken, who won a hard-fought battle to be seriously considered as a cook. Commiserating over their boss, Feniger and Milliken forged a lifelong friendship that would bring them remarkable success.

Feniger and Mikillen in their early years together. Image courtesy of Forked. Susan Feniger.

In 1981, the trail blazers opened City Cafe in Los Angeles, grilling meat in the parking lot for lack of kitchen space. Made famous for its multicultural dishes, City Cafe was expanded into a full-fledged restaurant while its original location was transformed into Border Grill. In 1995, the duo hit the big screen with their fun-loving FoodNetwork show Too Hot Tamales, airing over 400 episodes. Esteemed for their lovable personalities and culinary talent, Feniger and Milliken built a restaurant empire with several locations nationwide.

Forging an independent identity, Feniger opened her first solo restaurant in 2009. Inspired by the vibrant cultures of East and Southeast Asia, Feniger brought street food to Los Angeles with STREET. Directed by Feniger’s wife, Liz Lachman, Susan Feniger. Forked, follows the complex, arduous, and heartfelt journey of establishing the restaurant. The film documents Feniger’s unrelenting passion as she travels to Shanghai and Vietnam, as well as her profound struggles with STREET’s construction and finances—all of which she braves with infectious optimism. Through Lachman’s intimate lens, we get a candid glimpse behind the scenes of Feniger’s career as a celebrity chef, entrepreneur, TV personality, author, and culinary genius. One can’t help but marvel at Feniger’s wonderful sense of humor, wit, and joy in the face of adversity.

Feniger at an open-air market. Image courtesy of ForkedTheFilm.com.

I had the privilege of interviewing Susan Feniger and Liz Lachman from their home in Los Angeles. With each question, the couple looked at each other and giggled with the nostalgic bliss only shared between soulmates. I started by asking: “How did you meet?” The story did not disappoint.

“Do you want to see us argue right now?” Lachman laughed. “I will say we have a minor disagreement. I’ll tell you what we both agree on. My friends called me and said, ‘We have a friend who’s Jewish and leaving her husband, she wants to meet Jewish women. […] Will you meet us for a blind date?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ … Well, first I said, ‘I’m the only Jewish gay woman you know in Los Angeles? That’s sad’ They said, ‘Let’s meet at Border Grill.’”

Lachman had met Feniger two years prior but claims she was rude to her at a party. “Not true!” Feniger interjected.

When Lachman arrived at the restaurant, Feniger was working the room. “Are you looking for someone?” she asked. Lachman continues, “Then my friend who set up the blind date came up and introduced us. I went to the table and sat down with my blind date and two friends. And Susan kept coming to the table and coming to the table and coming to the table…”

Feniger laughs, “That was my normal. Liz thought it was about her!”

I had to ask, “What did your blind date think of this?”

“I don’t know, I never saw her again!”

Feniger triumphantly adds, “I asked my friends, ‘Why don’t you fix me up with Liz? I’m sure that woman is not her type.’ 8 years later they fixed us up.”

Even when they disagree, Feniger’s upbeat spirit never falters. I asked if she’s always been an optimistic person. “It may be,” she says. “I can be in a bad mood but then I’ll just move on and be done with it. I feel like my nature is to be optimistic and look on the bright side.”

Lachman says, “That’s a yes. About me, no. Susan gets out of bed in the morning like ‘Hi! It’s a great day! Greet the morning!’ I’m not there yet. I’ve got to work my way up to that.”

Feniger’s glass-half-full mindset certainly helped her shatter the culinary glass ceiling. When asked if she felt disadvantaged as a female cook, Feniger shrugged: “At that point, I had already come out. So I was very confident in who I was. I was ready and very entrepreneurial. I didn’t care that I was making less than the guys because, honestly, I knew where I was headed and that I wanted to open my own place eventually. I just wanted to learn as much as I could and work in the best restaurants I could. That’s where my focus was.”

Throughout the film, Lachman asks Milliken and Feniger rapid-fire questions to which they provide opposing answers. “They have different approaches,” she says. “I was very cognizant of wanting it to feel like a conversation between Susan and Mary Sue like they finish each other’s sentences. I wanted the audience to get the sense that this is a couple and they’re going through something. Then Susan goes off on her journey.”

Feniger and Lachman at the Julia Child Award Ceremony. Image courtesy of @lizlachman on Instagram

Ultimately, Feniger’s journey didn’t go quite as planned. Feniger expressed her disappointment in the film, but I had to ask in what ways was STREET successful in her eyes. After some thought, she says: “On the most basic level, it was so much fun. I loved the food. I absolutely loved the energy of the restaurant, the staff, the relationships. I just loved the whole experience, the STREET cookbook…the actual making of it was so much fun.” After being joined at the hip for 30 years, STREET gave Feniger and Milliken an opportunity to develop as individuals. She says, “It helped me to free myself and it helped her too, because after that we were able to be two separate people but still business partners. We could be separate but still stay together. I could really identify who I am, on my own.”

Throughout this interview, the personal and professional partnership between Feniger and Lachman radiates. Aside from creating Forked. Susan Feniger, I wanted to know what role Lachman played in the subject of her film. She says: “I think that I am a really good listener. Good for Susan to bounce ideas off of. Mostly I would say things like ‘Well, what do you want?’ But we would discuss it anytime she was having trouble, sort of talk it through together.”

Feniger chimes in: “Liz has got an amazing artistic eye and a really smart business sense. Her visual way of seeing things makes her a really great partner.”

A screening of Susan Feniger: Forked will be held on Friday, November 10th during the Coronado Island Film Festival. Guests will have the pleasure of meeting Feniger and Lachman after the show, where they will also enjoy a tasting from Feniger’s renowned restaurant, Border Grill. To purchase tickets to the event please visit the Coronado Island Film Festival website below. For more information about the film please visit ForkedTheFilm.com.