Mawa McQueen
From Paris to the Rockies, a chef’s journey rooted in culture and community
Photos Courtesy of Elite Focus Studio
When Chef Mawa McQueen walks into a room, you immediately know it. Her infectious smile and larger-than-life personality illuminate those around her. She is a visionary, a goal setter—and a breaker of the glass ceiling for female chefs. To put another notch on her accomplishments in Colorado, she recently opened a restaurant in Boulder that evokes a Paris café with a Colorado mountain flair.
McQueen was born in Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa, the eldest of 20 children. She moved to France at age 12 with some of her family, living in low-income housing in Paris. It was there–a literal melting pot of cultures, from French and Moroccan to Tunisian and Arabic—that she learned how to cook. In a 2023 interview with the Michelin Guide, McQueen said that she soon realized she was good at cooking, and even started to enjoy it. She dropped out of school to attend a vocational school, and an administrator there saw her potential. She earned a scholarship to culinary school before living in England as an au pair. Following her selection in the green card lottery, she immigrated to the United States.
She was working at a restaurant in Kennebunkport, Maine, when she learned about Aspen, Colorado, while watching television—and dreamed of moving there. Fortunately, the restaurant company she was employed by was affiliated with The Little Nell in Aspen, and she arranged to work summers in Maine and winters in Aspen. McQueen moved to Aspen full-time in 2004 and opened the Afro-Middle Eastern catering company Mawa’s Kitchen there in 2006.
In 2015, she expanded her business to include a restaurant—and within a few years Mawa’s Kitchen was noticed by the Michelin Guide. Honoring her time in Paris, she opened the Crepe Shack (now Crepe Therapy) in Snowmass in 2018, and added an outpost in Aspen in 2023.
McQueen is a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Mountain, and a winner of the Governor’s Minority Business award in 2020 and 2022. She is owner of Mawa’s GrainFreeNola (gluten-free, protein-rich, vegan, grain-free granola made in small batches in Aspen and sold at Whole Foods, Natural Grocers and other markets), and author of a self-published 2022 cookbook, Mawa’s Way, and Unstoppable Ambition, published in 2024. Though she has served celebrities including former presidents, she remains grounded and focused. She says she “found her voice in the kitchen, and is not trying to be something she is not.”
Crepe Therapy Boulder is McQueen’s latest venture, joining the Snowmass and Aspen cafés. The restaurant is like a Willy Wonka adventure for crepe lovers, with both sweet and savory crepes on the menu and many unique fillings. The chef wants Crepe Therapy to be a haven for togetherness, and says she “sells connections” along with the delicious food offerings. Among her favorite crepes are the Mawa’s Green (with avocado, pesto and arugula); the Parisian (a classic cheese, ham and Dijon mustard combo); and the Smores. A fourth location will open next spring inside the Limelight Hotel in Boulder. McQueen says she plans on having yoga and wellness classes in her Boulder locations to promote the active and healthy lifestyle that the city exudes.
Mawa McQueen is truly a role model for us all—resilent, hard working and grateful for the path that has led her to live her passion.
