Katy Millard
Coquine | Portland, OR
APRIL 2018
Katy Millard was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa until her family moved to Mobile, Alabama. She left the Gulf Coast to attend Michigan State University and worked in kitchens as she earned a degree in hospitality. Then she was off to Europe.
While backpacking, Millard met her father for a meal in Paris at Guy Savoy—she was wonderstruck. The next day Millard implored Chef Savoy for a job, even washing dishes. Savoy laughed, “You think I would let you wash my dishes?” Even so, Savoy gave Millard a chance.
She started out peeling shrimp and garlic and scrubbing floors, thinking she would stay for only a few months. Two and half years later, Millard moved on to cook at some of the best restaurants in France, including Le Château de la Chèvre d’Or, Le Grand Hotel in St Jean-Cap Ferrat, and La Table du Lancaster with Michel Troisgros, whom she counts a mentor.
Back stateside, Millard joined Daniel Patterson’s team at Coi in San Francisco, and in 2010, she moved to Portland, Oregon, to open a restaurant. Coquine began the Portland-way: as a pop-up. Spurred by its success, Millard and her husband (Rising Star Sommelier Ksandek Podbielski) found a brick-and-mortar home in 2015. Named one of “America’s Best New Restaurants” by Bon Appétit, Coquine combines Millard’s life experiences with her French backbone. In 2017 and 2018, Millard was a James Beard finalist for “Best Chef, Northwest.”
