Speaking Engagements
Appearances, Speaking Engagements, Cooking Demonstrations and Private Cooking Instruction
When the Occasion Calls for Bringing in the “Big Guns”
Any gathering, small or large, as you know centers around the food. Imagine your guests or conference being entertained and learning firsthand from a certified executive chef and member of the honor society of ACF, the American Academy of Chefs (AAC), and The Honorary Hall of Fame, (HHOF). You and your group will love the many exciting stories from Chef Don’s over 60 years of cooking around the world and working with many celebrities and cookbook authors.
Chef Donald McMillan hosted Monday’s Menu, a cooking show on NBC’s WXII for 16 years, appeared as a guest chef on many TV shows, including Hallmark’s Christmas with Maya Angelou, Sundance Channel’s Iconoclasts with Dave Chappell and Maya Angelou, as well as twice on Turner South’s Home Plate with Chef Marvin Woods, and multiple times on Turner South and Fox Sports South, O’Neill Outside.
Chef Donald McMillan C.E.C. A.A.C. H.H.O.F. has owned and operated the following restaurants, catering business, cooking school and retail store: Gisele Fine Foods, Café Piaf and Café McMillan’s, Catering by Simple Elegance, and The Stocked Pot and Company Cooking School and store located in North Carolina. He also created recipes for Lodge Cookware, Garner Foods, Golding Farms, National Produce Association, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, the Millions Step March and many more.
Chef Donald McMillan C.E.C. A.A.C. H.H.O.F. with the ACF Triad Chapter Chef and the Child Foundation instructs at-risk children in the fun of cooking nutritional meals with hands-on instruction at 17 North Carolina counties. Now in its 31st year, it was started and chaired by Chef McMillan. Chef Don brings a lifetime of experiences, numerous interesting stories–he has traveled to over 64 countries and territories—and entertains all with his amusing recollections while learning about culture and culinary arts.
Chef Donald McMillan C.E.C. A.A.C. H.H.O.F. worked for the National Science Foundation on an oceanographic vessel with the Merchant Marines. The ship researched anything found beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean. They checked depths of the ocean, sampled fish, tagged sharks, hatching turtles, and studied migration patterns, and even checked on the stomach contents of what they were eating!
Chef Donald McMillan C.E.C. A.A.C. H.O.F.F. participated in the International Indian Ocean Expedition on the yacht Anton Bruun from 1961 to 1965 serving as steward, cook, and baker.
Chef Donald McMillan C.E.C. A.A.C. H.H.O.F. was the personal chef for Dr. Maya Angelou for over 12 years. He prepared meals when she entertained celebrities, and he catered large events for Dr. Angelou–including catering many years of Dr. Angelou’s legendary weeklong Thanksgiving celebrations. He also helped Dr. Angelou with recipe development and food design on both of her cookbooks, Halleluhah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes, as well as Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart. Dr. Maya Angelou named one of her recipes after Chef McMillan, Sweet Potatoes McMillan, found on page 101 of Halleluhah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes.
Dr. Maya Angelou had Chef Don on her speed dial whenever she needed his culinary expertise.
Personal Appearances & Cooking Demonstrations
Chef Donald McMillan C.E.C. A.A.C. H.H.O.F., award-winning celebrity chef and television personality, is available for cooking demonstrations, corporate hospitality events, speaking engagements and much more.
Private Cooking Instruction
Knife skills, cooking techniques and recipes are all about Chef Don’s execution in his private cooking classes. If there’s one thing Chef Don is more passionate about than cooking, it’s teaching others to how to master it while having fun in the kitchen.