Valley Chef Chosen For Food Show Culinary Challenge; Lusy’s Mediterranean Café & Grill To Compete

A Valley Glen chef and North Hollywood resident has been tapped to compete in a high profile food show culinary challenge this Sunday. Lusy Gradzhyan, owner and chef of Lusy’s Mediterranean Cafe & Grill is one of three chefs to be chosen from entries received from restaurant professionals from throughout the West Coast.

The live, on-stage “Rapid Fire Champion” competition will be held in front of an audience of trade industry professionals, chefs and restaurant owners at the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo at the Los Angeles convention center.

In addition to Gradzhyan, the other competing chefs are from San Francisco and San Diego. They will face off this Sunday at 1:00 pm. at the convention center’s Culinary Demonstration Theater to be rated by a panel of three judges. Other chefs that have performed at the theater include Thomas Keller, Guy Fieri, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken and Emeril Lagasse.

Gradzhyan had submitted a video and her recipe for a smoked eggplant tapenade served at her restaurant.

According to the trade show organizers, the winner will be named the Western Food Expo Rapid Fire Champion and receive a $1,000 cash prize and be honored in front of 10,000 industry peers as well as receiving coverage from over 100 media outlets.

Gradzhyan opened her restaurant ten years ago in Valley Glen in 2006. Her reputation came by word-of-mouth as they had no budget for advertising. Food critics began coming and writing about their experiences. It began when Westways Magazine praised Lusy’s food in 2013. The magazine, with a circulation of 4 million readers, chose Lusy’s as one of their top five picks for delicious, affordable Los Angeles eating. The latest review came this year from Daily News and longtime food writer and restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. Yelp, the online rating guide for restaurants rates Lusy’s as among the top places in Los Angeles for fresh Mediterranean cuisine.

In 2014, Lusy’s was recognized by the California State Assembly and the California Small Business Association as a Small Business of the Year.

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian honored Gradzhyan in 2013 as an outstanding citizen for her community support of the Valley Glen Fire Department, the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association, North Hollywood and Grant High Schools and Kaiser Permanente’s neo-natal unit. As a part of neighborhood improvement, Lusy’s underwrote graffiti removal and pavement cleaning to encourage other storeowners to clean and upgrade their storefronts.