Shanna Lynn Milazzo

CHEF SHANNA LYNN MILAZZO (32)

Executive Chef & Owner of “Picnic Sandwich” & “Super Rad Sub Shop”

LOS ANGELES, CA

Shanna Lynn Milazzo is the Executive Chef & Owner of the LA hot spots, “Picnic Sandwich” & “Super Rad Sub Shop.” Her sandwich-style is rooted in the classics she enjoyed making with her family while growing up in Queens, NY. With an Italian/Sicilian background, Chef Shanna learned the art of making pastas, breads and gourmet dishes from both of her grandmothers. She jokes that while the culinary gene skipped her own mother, the traditions were kept alive through her. Shanna’s food has been featured at Smorgasburg, 4 coffee shops, Beverly Hills Hotel gift shops, music festivals, pop-ups in the streets of LA, and within the west coast nightlife scene. She opened her first brick and mortar, called Picnic Sandwich, in 2018, and recently opened her second restaurant Super Rad Sub Shop, where she runs the kitchen with her current business partner.

Shanna got her “hands-on” experience working as a private chef while studying dance and criminal justice in university. In 2011, she started a small pop up in the back of a dive bar on Fairfax called “The Dime.” Here, she cooked out of the kitchen two nights a week and changed the menu weekly. She went on to become a private chef, taking on as many small catering jobs as she could for local businesses and contacts while also working as a Cocktail Waitress. There, she was offered a job by her co-worker to run a kitchen in West Hollywood. They would constantly have 300 covers and lavish weddings, which helped Shanna master the Expo line. Shanna has taken on every role in a restaurant from Cocktail Waitress, Bartender, Food Runner, Busser, Dishwasher, Menu Creator, General Manager, Sous Chef to Executive Chef - she’s not above cleaning the toilets, either!

Being a former dancer and performer translates into how Chef Shanna thinks a restaurant should be run. She likens a restaurant to a “dance,” where all the key players in the performance have to bring their unique talents and time things just so, in order for it to run smoothly. Her performative background also lends a hand to the “secret shopping” that she does in her own restaurants - how can she be sure of how things are coming out of the kitchen, if she can’t see for herself? Chef Shanna knows firsthand how hard it is to run a business and has no problem getting her “hands dirty” or showing tough love if it's all “for the greater good” of a restaurant.