Mise en Place: Memoir of a Girl Chef

Marisa’s comfort zone is deep inside the restaurant kitchen alongside its dysfunctional characters and the abundance of booze and drugs.

But in the nineteen-seventies, girls baked or made salads. The heat and machismo of the hot line was not a place for a girl with a passion for food and the drive to be the best.

From Hawaii to Portland and New Orleans, she struggles with her own shyness and the limited expectations of the only female in the kitchen. She finally becomes Chef, successfully managing high-volume restaurants at three World’s Fairs, but something is missing.

Still searching, as a burnt-out chef, she embarks on another male-dominated career.

Mise en Place is a Memoir of a Girl Chef is a story about the determination to succeed in the face of personal handicaps and cultural norms.

About the author: She almost cooked dinner for Bruce Springsteen but sometimes life is not fair. Marisa Mangani was born and raised in Hawaii. Finding her niche as a culinarian at a young age, she cooked her way to New Orleans and some of that city’s finest restaurants.

A pivot put Marisa in the kitchen at World Expo ’84, and from there she went on to manage high-volume international food concessions and restaurants at Expo ’86 in Vancouver and Expo ’88 in Brisbane.

She is one of the eight featured chefs in Thrillist’s “Why 8 Top Chefs Quit the Kitchen.”

Sip wine and partake in light refreshments as you listen to Marisa's story.

Host or Publisher Senior Friendship Centers