Mackenzie Hilton
Mercato chef de cuisine
Mackenzie Hilton sometimes thinks wistfully to herself that she meant to be pouring over law books not cookbooks. But here she is the chef de cuisine of Mercato Restaurant in Center City Philadelphia!
It’s been a fast and exciting ride for this 27-year-old maverick female chef. As the daughter of a NASA engineer and a high school French teacher, Mackenzie entered Davidson College in North Carolina intent on becoming a lawyer. Mackenzie graduated from Davidson with a BA in Political Science but managed to get immersed in the local restaurant culture during her four years of study.
In the middle of her sophomore year of college she took time off and moved to Orlando to work in a law firm. Then, she embarked a month-long home-stay trip to Germany and France. Mackenzie’s stay in Europe only whetted her appetite for expanding her knowledge of food.
After that brief hiatus Mackenzie went back to school and got a job as a waitress in a local tap house. Shortly after starting as a server, she convinced the kitchen manager to train her on the cooking line. After gleaning as much knowledge as she could, a year later Mackenzie moved on to a fine dining restaurant as a cook. Again she worked her way up from garde manager to grill then sauté cook, while simultaneously taking classes.
Mackenzie’s ongoing interest in food fueled her to throw dinner parties at home with fellow students. She loved experimenting and cooking French, Indian, Mexican, Italian, and Japanese food.
Upon graduating in 2003, Mackenzie moved to Philadelphia where her sister was finishing a degree in veterinary medicine at the University of Philadelphia. Mackenzie found work as a cook for restaurateur and executive chef Mustapha Rouissya at Figs B.Y.O.B. in the Art Museum neighborhood of Philadelphia and again quickly moved up the ranks to sous chef. Mustapha opened her eyes to Moroccan, African, and Middle Eastern cuisine and expanded her cooking vocabulary and love of cultures.
Mackenzie’s next venture was to work under executive chef Tien Ngo at the prominent Fork Restaurant. Her skills blossomed under Tien. He instilled in her an unrelenting work ethic that tested her cooking skill, blew away old cooking standards and replaced them with new idea of perfection. Mackenzie became Tien’s sous chef and was present during the Fork expansion taking on additional duties such as menu creation and private party dining responsibilities.
Mackenzie feels her travels through kitchens in both North Carolina and Philadelphia have entailed a lot of hard knocks, especially because she is a woman. But she uses all her kitchen experiences to prove a specific misconception wrong: women are just as capable in the kitchen as male chefs.
After meeting Evan Turney through her roommate in the summer of 2005, Mackenzie stayed in touch and was eventually called for a position at Mercato.
Now, as Mercato’s chef de cuisine, Mackenzie gets to create dishes in her favorite cuisine – Italian. Evan and Mackenzie enjoy experimenting with different meats and fishes, pairing wines and cheeses, finding unique new olive oils, and creating great cuisine from synergy. It’s one reason Mercato is such a successful neighborhood B.Y.O.B.
Mackenzie constantly finds inspiration from new and unusual ingredients that spark new ides on how to cook dishes better and differently. When not fussing with the 101 ways she likes to use truffles Mackenzie enjoys drawing, playing cello and hanging out with her Chihuahua, Chica.
Concentration, determination and a thick skin has lead her to Philly where her cooking savvy and culinary prowess will ensure her place as a Philadelphia cooking powerhouse. And as friends like to joke with her, who needs another lawyer in this town anyway!