Susan Feniger, an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and media personality, is renowned for starring in the cooking shows “Too Hot Tamales” and “Tamales World Tour” on the Food Network, as well as appearances on “Iron Chef,” “Top Chef Masters,” and “Cooking with the Master Chefs.” She has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Restaurant Association and the L.A. Times Jonathan Gold Award. Recently, Susan received the Julia Child Award for her profound impact on American culinary practices and was inducted into the permanent collection of the Food Exhibition at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
For Susan’s next chapter, she collaborated with her life partner, filmmaker Liz Lachman, to create “Susan Feniger. FORKED,” a film that documents her significant career transitions and offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at her life. Liz captured this journey to present a different narrative about Susan, showcasing aspects of her personality and daily life that are rarely seen by the public.
Liz Lachman’s journey in making her first feature film was a comprehensive process, spanning a year and a half of recording and editing. The film not only chronicles Susan’s professional endeavors but also highlights the dynamics of their personal relationship. Liz’s background in music played a crucial role in shaping the film’s soundtrack, adding an additional layer to the storytelling. The inclusion of testimonials from other renowned chefs further cemented Susan’s impact on the culinary world. The film, enriched by these multifaceted elements, serves as both a personal and professional portrait of Susan Feniger, celebrating her contributions to the culinary arts and her unique story.
Susan’s partnership with chef Mary Sue Milliken, her longtime business collaborator, has been a significant part of her professional life. The creation of Street was a pivotal moment for Susan, as it allowed her to explore her own culinary passions independently, although it ultimately did not meet their business expectations.
In January 2024, Liz Lachman’s documentary “Susan Feniger. FORKED” screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival to a full house, followed by a Q&A session and a special dinner at Alice B, co-owned by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken — adding an extra layer of flavor to the visual experience.
Coachella Magazine met up with director Liz Lachman and chef Susan Feniger at Alice B restaurant for an interview ahead of their screening. They shared insights into the making of “Susan Feniger, FORKED,” reflecting on their creative journey and the unique aspects of Susan’s life captured in the film. Here’s what they had to say.
Documenting Susan’s Journey
Coachella Magazine: Can you recall the moment when you decided to start documenting the film?
LIZ LACHMAN: Yes. From the beginning, I thought, this is so unusual, because she’s in our home doing all the stuff she would do in the restaurants. So I did recognize it as an opportunity to tell a different story about Susan. So right from the beginning, I knew, but I really wasn’t planning on making a film. I was just documenting it, because it should be documented. It’s not gonna happen again. That’s what I thought. So take advantage that I’m here and I can document.
CM: Your aim was to showcase a behind-the-scenes aspect of Susan that the public might not be familiar with. Do you believe you successfully accomplished that goal with the film?
LIZ: Absolutely. I do, because I hear from people that they can’t believe some of the stuff that I was able to get. And it’s because, when I had the camera, she was trying to make me laugh. She was being herself, the way we are at home. Most people don’t see her that way. ’cause she’s on TV, she’s being a professional and she’s a little more serious, but just a little more professional. And this time she let me film her in her pajamas and all kinds of things. <Laugh>
Daily Motivation
CM: In the film, you consistently show laughter and joy from your youth to the present. What drives your motivation each morning?
SUSAN FENIGER: The newness, the creativeness, the excitement of restaurants, that has been my passion for over 40 years. I think my nature is just, I have a horrible memory. So when bad things happen, I forget it. And so you know, when I get up in the morning, most of the time, I’m just in a good mood and sort of ready. I’d rather be awake than asleep. That is one thing I know. I like getting up. I wake up through the night, I’m constantly looking at my watch, like thinking, “Isn’t it time to get up yet?” So I’m definitely much more of a person who wants to be up and going and doing stuff.
CM: In the early part of the film, you were discussing your struggles with Mary Sue, who was supportive and encouraging you to persevere. Was that one of the most challenging periods for you?
SUSAN: That was in Chicago at Le Perroquet. That was a very tough chef that I was working for. And he was particularly on me. Many years later, I realized part of his problem with me was that, I had just come out and he was still in the closet.
CM: Was that a key moment in your career that led you to pursue independent work?
SUSAN: I think I always knew. I came from an entrepreneurial family. My father was very entrepreneurial and I was a big follower of Ayn Rand when I was in high school reading Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. I always sort of thought I’d open up a restaurant, but I wanted the training. I think it was being in France that convinced me it was time to do it after being in France.
The Impact of “Street”
CM: In the film, you mentioned that starting Street was “the best thing I’ve ever done, separate from Mary Sue.” What did you mean by that?
SUSAN: Well, Mary Sue and I have been business partners now for, since 1981. And everything we have done for all these years has been Mary Sue and I, every award, every TV show. It’s always been the two of us. So doing Street allowed us both to separate and yet still stay together, but it gave us each the freedom to do the things we were passionate about. I mean, after 30 plus years, you grow and you’re different people, but everything was always us together. So it gave us a freedom, I think for both of us. I call it growing pains, you know?
CM: What was the biggest lesson that you learned from Street?
SUSAN: I always appreciated my partnership with Mary Sue, but I think it made me probably respect our partnership more. I think the separation helped us both to be able to collaborate better.
CM: Did that bring you closer to Mary Sue Milliken afterwards?
SUSAN: Yes, I think so because, it gave us some distance. And I think it allowed me to not be so pushing her away.
LIZ: I always say, Susan has two wives. She’s got the work, wife Mary Sue, and then she’s got me. So she has a lot to balance.
CM: How does that make you feel?
LIZ: I’m thrilled because it takes all the pressure off of me. <Laugh>.
CM: What do you feel most proud about the Street restaurant?
SUSAN: I think we had an incredible team. I mean, truly, I think the food was amazing. I loved the food there. I love the whole vibe of the place. I loved everything about it. It just didn’t do enough business. But, you know, I think the food was really creative, very unusual. Maybe it was ahead of its time, I don’t know. But I was proud of the food and really, the whole feel of the team there. And they were very excited about the food.
CM: Looking back, do you wonder why the restaurant didn’t catch on the way you expected?
SUSAN: We’ve talked so much about that and we can’t figure it out. There’s so many variables in restaurants. It’s very hard to figure it out. I mean, I think it was a challenging location. Not that restaurants don’t make it in challenging locations, but there was no parking on the street from three to seven. It was in a location that typically wasn’t known for restaurants. But also, it was in the middle of the block, it was on a very busy street. People are zooming by, they don’t even know there’s a restaurant there. It was tough. The food was unusual. I think possibly, the Los Angeles palate wasn’t prepared at that time for global street food. You know, things have changed a lot since then.
Editing and Filmmaking
CM: What was your journey like as far as recording Susan over the course of the documentary? How many years was that?
LIZ: It was about a year and a half of actual recording. It was interesting. I loved what I was recording, however, I was also going to the construction site, the meetings. I was really along for the entire journey if I was gonna capture all of it. At the same time, I was editing together small little marketing videos with a friend of mine who’s an editor. So I would come back home and Susan would be cleaning up from all their recipe menu testing, and then she’d wanna talk to me more about what happened when I wasn’t there. So 24/7, it felt like I was hearing Susan talk, and I was like, I’m done with that <laugh>.
CM: Was this your first feature film?
LIZ: Yes, it’s my first feature. I’ve done a couple shorts before that did win a bunch of awards in festivals. And I also did a web series on Susan. It was all music. This is my first feature film.
CM: Now that the film is completed, do you have anything else planned next?
LIZ: I am a mostly a narrative filmmaker, not a documentary filmmaker. So I have a couple narrative feature films that I wrote, that I plan on directing next. I’m gonna take one of those and start working that to get it going, you know, so I can direct my first narrative feature.
CM: The last thing you say at the end of the film was, “Okay, stop recording.”
SUSAN: <Laugh> It was like, “Get outta my face with that camera.’
LIZ: She forgot what I looked like — It was just the camera.
Film Inspired Dinners
CM: How do you envision the dinner contributing to the overall celebration and what elements from the film might be reflected in the dining experience?
LIZ: I think that the dinner, it’s sort of like, you see the film, you see all the food, right? And now you’re hungry. So the good news is, “Oh look, you can have Susan Feniger cook for you right after you’ve just seen this entire journey that’s been visual, but now you’ll get to taste it. It’ll be lovely. It’ll be like a nice little bookend to the film. You know?
The Culmination
CM: What did you enjoy the most about the making the film?
LIZ: The journey was so joyful for her. And I got to be a part of that joy, and that was fun. Now, in the filmmaking process, the editor is named Joan Gill Amorim, and she’s in London. And so, the last week of our editing, we went to London. I mostly edited over Zoom for the most of the process. But the editing was phenomenal because you finally get to see it coming together. The thing that’s been in your head for so long is now out there. It was so wonderful to be able to shape it, you know? It was great.
CM: What was your reaction, once you finally saw the finished film?
SUSAN: I had no idea what it would be. No idea. And so watching it really sort of took me down memory lane. Really did. And it made me very proud of Liz. I like the way that it got cut. I love the back and forth with Mary Sue and I. And I just love the way it was all put together, because when she first said she was gonna do it, I couldn’t quite understand like, “Who would wanna see this?” Then when I saw it, it was like “I could see that this is interesting. I could see why it would be.” And then, I was sort of impressed with myself, <laugh>. I was impressed with seeing everything: Lady Gaga and Obama and Clinton. I was like, “Wow, boy, I’ve done some stuff.”
CM: It’s a portrait and it’s a part of history. I think that’s important to record that.
SUSAN: Yeah, for sure.
CM: Anything else that you want to add that we haven’t talked about or mentioned?
SUSAN: Well, I think one, one thing I also really love is that Liz in her former life was a singer/songwriter. She has an Emmy. When she was doing the music with the composer, who’s Miriam Cutler, they were in the studio. And I went one day for like an hour to hear the horn players. And I love the music. And I think Liz had a big part of shaping that music. So it was really wonderful to see the movie and see that Liz is always very aware of music in movies. So it was great to see how she put it in this.
LIZ: I wanted the music to be another character. My first job was singing in a big band in Detroit. So I was a big band singer and a big band lover. I always had the feeling that when the construction is just going and going and can’t be stopped and Susan is trying to get the menu going and she’s behind that, that felt like a runaway train to me. I always wanted a big band piece that was very fast and moving. And Miriam Cutler, I knew her from many years ago when she used to be in a swing band. So she knows that music very well and she did a great job.
CM: And then you got to have other chefs speak on camera too?
LIZ: Yes. I wanted to make sure that whoever doesn’t know Susan, when they come to this film, that they understand that the people who are her peers, that they know them. And I wanted to make sure that the audience would understand how important Susan is by seeing how her peers spoke about her. And they were wonderful to be able to come in and do that. They all willingly did it.
CM: That added some more layers to the film.
LIZ: Exactly.
