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the two rings of fire chandeliers, the cumulus clouds suspended from the
ceilings and the strobe light-created effect of lightning. The food from
the kitchen of Mark Miller, master of chilies, also has created a stir,
especially signature dishes like Lobster Tamales with Three Chilies, Wood
Pigeon and Foie Gras Tamal, and Seared Spicy Tuna with Mole Amarillo.
Miller, the
student of culture, observes that "the world looks at America, and
it thinks about the West." Speaking in the words of one excited to
be a part of the historical process of food evolution, Miller notes that
while the West has a glorious past, "it's still in the process of
becoming. It's not about looking back. It's about bringing it forward."
Miller has contributed to the knowledge of Western cuisine through the
publication of his best-selling books, all from Ten Speed Press: Coyote
Cafe in 1989, The Great Chile Book — accompanied by the popular Great
Chile posters — in 1991, and, more recently, The Salsa Book.
Miller once
approached his cooking as a pragmatic endeavor, a means of relieving stress
after his studies. When Alice Waters, one of the founders of New American
cuisine, asked him in 1976 to cook temporarily at Chez Panisse in Berkeley,
Calif., Miller discovered his life's calling, and stayed until 1979. He
then opened the Fourth Street Grill in Berkeley, which catapulted him
to culinary fame (and where he was first featured on a Great Chefs program,
Great Chefs of San Francisco). Miller sold his interest in Fourth Street
to launch, in 1987, the much-imitated Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe — where
he was featured on Great Chefs of the West.
Coyote Cafe
has received overwhelming critical acclaim; honors include recognition
by Nation's Restaurant News as one of the best restaurants in the country
and nomination by the James Beard Foundation as Best Southwestern Restaurant.
Now there's the acclaimed Red Sage — named "Restaurant of the
Year" by Esquire in 1992 — in Washington, a Coyote Cafe in Las
Vegas, and more books — plus another feature on Great Chefs of the
East. In a special edition of Life magazine, Miller was once named one
of the most influential chefs of the decade. By now, Mark Miller must
surely be one of the most influential American chefs of the past century.
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