Now, she and her husband Ben Miller — a fellow chef who she met at that same restaurant — own South Philly Barbacoa, one of Bon Appetit’s 2016 picks for the best new restaurants in America. Together, the couple aims to mobilize the industry to advocate for the thousands of undocumented workers in food establishments across the country. The couple joins a growing movement of chefs and restaurant owners, including celebrity chef José Andrés, who have turned to political activism in light of recent threats from President Donald Trump’s administration, from deportation sweeps to an attempted travel ban and proposed border wall. Already, chefs have organized Day Without Immigrants protests, and Martinez and Miller have other actions like that set for the spring.
