Meet Mawa McQueen | Chef/Owner/Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mawa McQueen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mawa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I learn a lot from taking risks. You will find the known in the unknown. For me taking a risk means I am alive, and I don’t even see it as a “risk” I see it as a learning experience. If I fail I learn something and I can move on. Perfection doesn’t exist. It’s by doing things that you grow, if you aren’t growing you aren’t taking risks. So actually I don’t like the word “risk” I like to think of it as taking new experiences.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Resilience is one of the words I would use to describe my career. I am proud of where I am today since I never dreamed I would get to this point. It has been an uphill battle from the beginning. There were lots of lows coupled with extreme highs. I went to culinary school, but just being a chef is so different from running a profitable restaurant. You have to force yourself to become more of an entrepreneur than a chef, even though your passion is in the kitchen. I learned the hard way that it’s not all about passion and creativity, it’s also about entrepreneurial skills that you have to learn. Resilience and patience are key as is the ability to reinvent yourself until you find what works for you in your field. I have evolved from where I started, in the Ivory Coast, and I continue to evolve now as a restauranter/executive chef in Aspen, which is not an easy place to create a sustainable business. My brand is ever evolving and growing. I think of my brand as a human; It’s alive, it’s growing and learning and becoming more mature as time goes on. I instill into my brand and my businesses all the lessons learned from my life and those that I encounter along the way. My brand is my whole being. Whatever I put out in the world I have to make sure I love it before I share it with everyone. You can see me through my brand and my products – my diversity, my experiences on three continents, my cultures, my genuine love for food and people, my resilience, etc.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It depends on what season you are visiting Aspen, but for the sake of the question, let’s pretend it’s the summer season, because that is my favorite.

Where to eat & drink
– Grab a sweet or savory crepe at The Crepe Shack
– Lunch at Pintxos in downtown Aspen
– Dinner at Mawa’s Kitchen on the patio
– Dinner at Cache Cache
– Eat at White House Tavern
– Eat at Mawita before the Thursday night concert in Snowmass
– Clark’s Oyster Bar
– Ajax Tavern for a classic Aspen experience for lunch

What to experience
-Walk around the Saturday Market in downtown Aspen to enjoy local produce, arts and crafts.
– Go to the grottos on Independence Pass
– Morning hike on Aspen Mountain
– Whitewater rafting
– Walk around the Maroon Bells
– Sunday afternoon music tent performance with a picnic
– Rodeo in Snowmass on Wednesday
– Thursday night concert in Snowmass

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give a shoutout to Dave Query from Big Red F Restaurant Group in Denver. It is because of Dave I survived the COVID shutdowns. He went out of his way to help me with restructuring my businesses and even let me pick up equipment from his restaurant. He brought his management to Aspen to help train me and my team and really put me on a path to continue to evolve in a successful way. He has been a great mentor to me and I know I can call him anytime and he will always give me the best advice and help when needed.

I also need to shoutout the James Beard Foundation. They have given me confidence and the tools I need to take my businesses to the next level. The Foundation has fostered a great community, specifically the Women’s Entrepreneur Leadership program that I was a part of, that places you with your peers so you can lift one another up, grow and make sure you are heard in the hospitality/restaurant industry.

Website: www.mawaskitchen.com | www.mawita.com | www.grainfreenola.com | www.thecrepeshack.com

Instagram: @mawamcqueen | @mawaskitchen | @mawita | @grainfreenola | @crepeshackaspen | @crepeshacksnowmass

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mawa-mcqueen-b1994525/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mawas-kitchen-aspen

Image Credits
Alexis Ahrling