Elizabeth Heitner and Nestor Silva
Malli | Los Angeles
April 2024
Growing up in New York City, Elizabeth Heitner taught herself to cook at an early age. At 23, after graduating from New York University with a degree in Art History, Heitner moved out to Los Angeles to get sober and finally realized her true passion was in the kitchen. Determined to work for a female chef, she staged at Chef Suzanne Goin’s Lucques and was hired as garde manger. Under the guidance of Chef Mercedes Rojas, Heitner learned how to work efficiently in the kitchen and to take both direction and initiative.
Nestor Silva spent his childhood watching his father grill Argentinian-style asado on the weekends. After two years at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Silva dropped out and picked up work in a sandwich shop with his brother, Rising Stars alum Estevan Silva. He spent four years there, learning from his brother, building up his culinary knowledge, and developing a love for hospitality. He went to stage at Lucques before also joining the team as garde manger. Working for Chef Javier Espinoza, Silva was taught to cook with a sense of urgency and took command of his station. After three years as sous chef, he left to work for Rising Stars alum Jeremy Fox at Rustic Canyon.
In 2020, as the pandemic raged on, Heitner and Silva—unable to see family and furloughed from work—began cooking nostalgic dishes at home. The Jewish flavors of Heitner’s childhood and the Mexican and Argentinian flavors of Silva’s collided in their kitchen. As lockdowns lifted and work resumed, Heitner turned those ideas into Malli and started popping up at Melody Wine Bar while Silva went back to Rustic Canyon. A year later, he joined the pop-up full-time. Since 2021, Malli has traveled to New York, Mexico, and London. With their eyes now set on a brick-and-mortar, the couple is ready to bring their innovative, collaborative menu—featuring dishes like smoked pastrami with sauerkraut, scarlet runner beans, Jimmy Nardello peppers, and chile de árbol—to a wider audience.
