MIKI ZIVKOVIC, Owner & Executive Chef Much in demand by Hollywood celebrities, major corporations and prestigious wineries, Miki Zivkovic has emerged as one of L.A.’s premier chefs. For a kid who grew up in the Serbian countryside of the former Yugoslavia he lives a pretty glamorous existence. But his modest roots have always kept Miki grounded and his cuisine while featuring occasional elegant touches often exhibits comforting, homespun qualities. At 16 Miki enrolled in a culinary school in Belgrade with plans of eventually opening his own bar. Upon graduation he apprenticed at Restaurant Vuk, an acclaimed establishment in the capital city, after which he was hired as a cook at the Sava River Restaurant, one of the city’s most prestigious seafood establishments. He was working at the Hyatt Regency in Belgrade when the war broke out and the company provided him an opportunity to safely emmigrate to California. He left the Hyatt hotel chain to work for When in Rome, a popular San Diego Italian restaurant, followed by a position at Grazi in the Bay Area. At Albona Ristorante Istriano in San Francisco, Miki landed his first job as head chef but he left the position to cook on the line at the establishment of celebrated chef Alain Rondelli, one of the hottest restaurants in America at the time. It was there, cooking an inspired modern French cuisine grounded in classic technique, where Miki experienced a major transformation in his career - cooking suddenly became a passion, not just a vocation. With a new sense of excitement about his craft, Miki left Alain Rondelli in 1992 to open Enzo’s, his own French restaurant in the Oakland Hills. The high-end establishment, specializing in multi-course tasting menus, received widespread acclaim. In 1998, Four Seasons Hotels recruited Miki to work at the Aviara Resort, its exclusive property in northern San Diego County. Then, in 2000, he began collaborating with L.A. superchef Joachim Splichal of the Patina Group, for whom he opened many of the company’s highest profile properties, including Pinot Provence in Orange County, Pinot Brasserie at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and Catal Restaurant & Uva Bar and Naples Ristorante at Downtown Disney. He then took over as Executive Chef at Pinot Bistro in Studio City, where he was fixture for nearly five years, before departing to open his own restaurant, Bistro Provence in Burbank.