Many of you know Rachel Mueller as a familiar face in our community—whether from her 18 years of volunteer work with I-HELP, her homemade meals at St. Dunstan’s, or her leadership in local food and wine events.

As board president of the local Les Dames d’Escoffier chapter, Rachel continues to champion the organization’s mission of supporting women in the culinary arts. Under her leadership, the chapter remains actively engaged in the community through events like the Carmel Bach Festival and MEarth Day, always with an emphasis on hospitality and showcasing Monterey County’s best in food and wine.

Rachel’s path to this role is anything but conventional. A trained dancer who became a successful investment firm manager, then a retail business owner, she eventually found her way back to what she learned as a child—that giving back is simply part of life. As the daughter of an Episcopal priest, she grew up helping in church kitchens and setting extra places for homeless guests her father brought home.

“I grew up poor… But it was never really about money, it was always about helping other people,” she says. “There are so many people who hurt. It doesn’t take much to change that.”

Click Here to read the full story behind Rachel’s remarkable journey at Monterey County Weekly.

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Original reporting by Dave Faries, Monterey County Weekly (June 11, 2026)
Photo by Daniel Driefuss

We are thrilled to share some exciting news from the world of print! The latest issue of Edible Monterey features a wonderful spotlight on our organization, and we couldn’t be more proud.

The article perfectly captures the spirit of our sisterhood, highlighting a powerful truth: while the hospitality industry can often feel isolating and stressful, it is also filled with people who have generous hearts. It is at this intersection—between professional need and a desire to support one another—that Les Dames d’Escoffier Monterey has built its compelling legacy.

The chef, instructor and cookbook author has been everywhere in search of flavors, learning cooking techniques and collecting recipes for works like The Traveling Cookbook and The Traveling Soup Pot. And it’s hard to find a person more influential, as Chamberlin takes leadership roles in organizations such as the James Beard Foundation, the American Institute of Wine & Food and Les Dames d’Escoffier International, as well as volunteering for less lofty functions, such a s Meals on Wheels.

Chamberlin opened Mission Deli in San Francisco with two people and grew it to a staff of 80 before selling the restaurant and moving to Monterey County. She also operated the Mission Gourmet Cooking School. In fact, it would be difficult to outline all of her activities and accomplishments.

Chamberlin was born on an Illinois farm and moved with her family to Chicago and then California. She has a teaching certificate from the University of California, but worked as an executive secretary before going to culinary school at West Valley College and Cordon Bleu in Paris. She also spent time in Little Rock and Dallas.

She remains active in retirement, hosting charity dinners, teaching courses, serving on the board of the August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and more – quite a bit more. The Weekly caught up with her in her Carmel kitchen (once featured in Better Homes & Gardens), where she was eager to prepare omelets.

Weekly: Why write cookbooks?

Chamberlin: I did my cookbooks because I had all these treasured recipes and I felt they should be put in a book. I sent it out and no one was interested. I thought, “I’ll do it myself.” Traveling Soup Pot is in its seventh printing.

Is there an art to putting a cookbook together?

I said that if I were going to have a cookbook, I would not have to put a brick on it [to hold the page flat]. It’s ringbound. You can put hundreds of recipes in a book, but that doesn’t mean people will use all of them. It’s about quality. I got the chilled red and yellow tomato soup from Chef Alan Wong. It’s one of the finest chilled soups you’ll have in your life. It’s divine. There’s a reason for every soup in the book.

How did you manage to get to so many places?

My husband was a pilot. When he proposed to me, he said, “Marry me and fly for free.” But my first experience overseas was Paris. Here I was, a young girl. My brother was getting married and I said, “I’m going to the wedding.” So I borrowed the money. It didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped. I was in a terrible auto accident a day after my brother’s wedding. I healed, but I lost my secretarial skills.

(Chamberlin’s hand is still damaged from the long-ago accident; she spent three months in a French
hospital.)

What got you into cooking?

After the accident I thought, “What am I going to do with my life?” | like to cook. I experienced only homemade food until we moved to Chicago. My mother would do all the canning. So I enrolled in culinary school. When I opened Mission Deli, I promised God I would not be open on Sunday and that I would always have something for a dollar. When I sold it, I had $2 million yearly in sales. Have things changed in the culinary world?

There’s a change in what’s happening with food. For example, I do not think you need to heat things up with chiles. It’s barbaric. The heat takes away from the other flavors. There’s no reverence for recipes. [Laughs] Maybe I don’t fit in anymore.

You’ve run kitchens and organizations, taught cooking, hosted dignitaries – how did you do it all?

Sometimes it’s like, “Did I do that?” My life was never say no. When something presents itself, do it. It’s there for you.

This interview comes with omelets.

I’m going to do a three-egg omelet. The eggs have to be at room temperature. I’m going to put a little pad of water in each one. Al I’m going to do is put the eggs together. I have this fire on full blast. When the butter foam breaks, I pour in the omelet – and I don’t stop stirring. The perfect omelet is less than 30 seconds in the pan. Now watch this [folds omelet from the pan]. Voila! This is the best omelet I’ve ever had.

It had better be [laughs]. I’m just joking. I just wanted you to see how the texture of the egg should be.

Dave Faries

The Monterey Chapter of Les Dames is proud to introduce Dame Monica Lal, a professional chef with a 25-year career in hotels and restaurants working nationally and internationally including ten years as an estate manager and chef for a hotelier family from Hong Kong.  Currently she is the President and CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce where hospitality is the number one economic driver and industry.   But first a word about her background.

Monica is a Monterey Peninsula native with parents from the Fiji Islands and of South Asian and Mexican descent respectively,  growing up amongst religious and cultural diversity. 

Both parents were connected to their heritages as the first immigrants in their families and they, in turn sponsored their parents and siblings.  Within the family there was always someone to cook, eat and joke with.  While international products were not as available when Monica was growing up as they are today, Monterey County is an agricultural county with an active military base and international language school, so the family was able to source Asian and Mexican herbs and spices not available elsewhere and re-create home food.  

Always with an eye towards international studies, Monica graduated from Reed College with a degree in history only to find herself in a national recession.  At the suggestion of her brother, she applied to the AT&T golf tournament in Pebble Beach for a job as a temporary helper.  It was love at first sight and the beginning of her career in hospitality.  Of course, there were challenges from uniforms that didn’t fit, to no designated restroom access, or finding the pass was too high.  Monica sought competitive kitchens, knowing that she was being constantly assessed, but chose to feel that she was not being singled out.  Nevertheless, she was often told she was “too young” as an excuse for not advancing her position.  Her father was an Executive Chef, so she had an inside look at the hospitality industry which helped.

When asked if she will celebrate AANHPI, she said “yes, of course”. She plans to continue to share stories with her daughters, staying connected to their Naani and Abuela (grandmothers) who live their culture.  While somewhat discreet, there is a view this group is “too foreign”, so she sees the  increasingly visible roles that AANHPI play in national politics a good start to overcome this prejudice.  She is also a great role model in the community as a lifelong volunteer, serving as Board President of the Bojuka Ryu Parent-Student Association (Judo Club) in Marina, working with Loaves & Fishes at San Carlos Cathedral in Monterey, acting as co-leader of Girl Scout Troop 30610, in addition to being actively involved in her children’s schools.  And she admits food plays an invaluable role in keeping her cultural traditions alive.  She says she relies on okra, potato curry and black beans but won’t eat roti with Mexican food or tortillas with Indian food.  “That’s a bridge too far for me to cross.”Despite her new role as the chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce, she continues to cook with friends on large scale production events and donates her time to charitable events as a private chef for dinners at fundraising auctions.  Her advice to other Dames, “Jump in whenever you can, understand what you like, and with food, let it speak for itself.”