ian alvarez,
sous chef, noodle bar (ny)
ian is a born and raised new yorker. prior to joining momofuku, he was the opening sous chef at buttermilk channel in brooklyn. he joined the noodle bar team as a line cook in 2011, and was promoted to the sous chef position in early 2012.
erin anderson,
finance, papercut
erin anderson moved to new york city to attend the french culinary institute. following her 3 year stay working in kitchens, she returned to her home in salt lake city where she received her accounting degree from the university of utah. she loves the outdoors and enjoys playing competitive sports, both in and out of the bar.
dave arnold,
inventor / partner, booker and dax
dave arnold began tinkering with restaurant equipment after earning his master of fine arts from columbia university. in 2004, arnold founded the museum of food and drink in new york in 2005, the international culinary center, tapped him to head its new culinary technology department. arnold recently signed a double book deal with norton publishing. he is also working on an equipment design business.
kylie javier ashton,
restaurant manager, seiōbo
born and raised in sydney, kylie started working in restaurants when she joined tetsuya’s doing admin, then worked her way onto the foh and also staged in the kitchen. she has worked at bentley restaurant & bar and was part of the original taste of young sydney team. she joined momofuku seiōbo in 2012.
mitchell bates,
chef de cuisine, shōtō
mitch is from washington state. after a stint at cru, mitch joined momofuku ko in 2008. he subsequently moved to toronto to be a part of the momofuku toronto opening team.
jen bubleit,
foh manager, daishō
jen has been working in the restaurant industry for the last 13 years. born in quebec but having grown up in mississauga, jen moved to toronto 7 years ago, and has since fallen in love with the city life. when not at work, you can find jen strolling around the city with her dog dwayne, playing soccer, or volunteering at a dairy farm just outside the city. jen is very excited to be joining the momofuku team in toronto.
anna-lisa campos,
foh manager, ssäm bar
anna-lisa's restaurant career began over 15 years ago, washing dishes & bussing tables on fire island. she continued in restaurants while earning her degree in modern art & cinema studies at nyu. prior to joining the momofuku team in April 2013, she was most recently at co., where she managed the beverage program since 2009. she lives in brooklyn with her writer husband, where they have a cat named after a pixies song and a fantasy football team named after a louis ck bit.
paul carmichael,
executive chef, má pêche
paul is from barbados where he learned to cook from his mom and worked at sandy lane resort and the cliff restaurant. he moved to new york to attend the culinary institute of america and upon graduation moved to the city, working at the tasting room, asiate, alto, aquavit, and wd~50. in 2008, paul moved to puerto rico to become the executive chef at perla restaurant; he returned to new york in 2010 to join the má pêche team as sous chef, and was promoted to executive chef in october 2011.
sue chan,
pr + marketing, papercut
sue chan grew up a tennis player in san diego. after graduating as a strong barnard woman in 2006, she worked for the hunger relief organization, food bank for new york city. sue joined momofuku in 2008. her favorite karaoke song is natalie imbruglia's "torn."
david chang,
chef / founder, momofuku
david chang is the chef/owner of momofuku. before opening noodle bar in 2004, dave worked in the kitchens of jean-georges vongerichten, daniel boulud and tom colicchio. he has been honored with awards from food & wine and bon appétit. dave was one of the time 100, a gq man of the year, and has taken home three james beard awards. dave’s cookbook, momofuku, came out in 2009. his quarterly print journal, lucky peach, came out in 2011.
adam cornelius,
foh manager, má pêche
adam was born and raised in indiana, where he gained an early appreciation for food from his dad’s watermelon farm. from his first restaurant job at the age of 15, adam worked for a variety of restaurants in Indianapolis, both in the dining room and in the kitchen, before heading to new york, where he worked for tribeca grill until he joined noodle bar in june of 2011.
patrick curran,
sous chef, noodle bar (ny)
while still in high school, patrick began his culinary career at oak hill country club in his hometown of rochester, new york. he then went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from the culinary institute of america. patrick has spent significant time abroad, working at the ritz carlton in st. thomas, and traveling in china. patrick has been with the noodle bar team since early 2010, first joining as a line cook, and now as a sous chef.
tj daveldek,
sous chef, má pêche
t.j. started cooking in kitchens in virginia and north carolina at a young age. he moved to new york in 2008 to attend the culinary institute of america, during which he worked at ssäm bar as a culinary extern. upon graduation, he joined the opening line cook team at má pêche, and was promoted to sous chef in 2012.
john debary,
bar advisor, momofuku
manhattan-born, suburb-raised, john narrowly escaped the post-college law school track in 2008, when he started bartending at please don’t tell. a year later, he hopped behind the bar at ssäm, helping guide the development of the cocktail program, splitting his time between the two bars for three years.
caitlin doonan,
foh manager, má pêche
caitlin attended college in nyc, and graduate school in boston, where she fell in love with food and wine while working at market by jean-georges. caitlin arrived back in nyc in 2011 to work in entertainment, but quickly realized that she missed the restaurant world and needed to return. she joined ma peche in 2012. outside of work, caitlin is an obsessive boston sports fan, loves to travel, and is pursuing her sommelier certification.
derek easton,
commissary sous chef, momofuku toronto
derek grew up in toronto ontario and spent much of his youth working in small restaurants and discovering the culinary world foraging in northern parts of the provence with his family. after attending culinary school, derek pursued his interest in french and italian cuisine while finding time to travel and see some of the world. derek is apart of the opening team for momofuku toronto and is currently commissary sous chef.
greta edmondson,
assistant manager, seiōbo
greta began her working life making hot cakes and running the drive-through at mcdonalds. when old enough to work with liquor, she progressed from cafes to bars and nightclubs, eventually juggling university studies in fine art with her passion for restaurants and service. greta joined momofuku in 2011 and enjoys building elaborate lego and eating sweet treats.
daniel felder,
head of r+d, culinary lab
dan is originally from roxbury, connecticut, and began working in restaurants at the age of eighteen while he was studying at union college in saratoga springs, new york. he moved to new york city and joined the momofuku team in 2008 at noodle bar and ko, and now at the culinary lab.
jordan frosolone,
chef tournant, momofuku
jordan's career began in chicago at coco pazzo, blackbird and nomi. he then spent a year in italy at florence's beccofino working under chef francesco berardinelli. in 2003, he moved to new york, where he found an initial position at david bouley’s flagship restaurant. he then joined marco canora to open hearth. jordan assumed the role of chef de cuisine in 2006 and maintained the position until 2011. jordan was the executive chef at august restaurant prior to joining momofuku.
sam gelman,
executive chef, momofuku toronto
sam hails from iowa city, where his pursuit of all things culinary began at the age of sixteen while working part time in restaurants during high school. sam has cooked in iowa city, chicago, boston, the hudson valley, and nyc. in 2007, sam started working with chef david chang at momofuku ssäm bar. he helped open momofuku ko as sous chef in 2008 and recently settled up north to help open momofuku toronto.
eunsook genardini,
sous chef, má pêche
eunsook was born and raised in seoul, south korea. she moved to new york in 2004 to attend culinary school. after graduation, she worked at alto under chef scott conant. she then moved to Italian wine merchants and worked with kevin sipple as a sous chef in 2007. in 2011, she joined the momofuku team as a sous chef at má pêche.
jonathan gonsenhauser,
beverage director, momofuku toronto
jonathan was born in south africa, but brought up in toronto. an avid traveler, jonathan believes you need to touch, see, and smell anything you truly want to master and have a proper understanding of. when he is not tasting and studying all things liquid you can find him 90ft underwater scuba diving. he currently holds his advanced certification with the court of master sommelier and is working towards attaining his masters.
sean gray,
chef de cuisine, ko
hailing from eastern pennsylvania, sean moved to new york city in 2005 after working in a string of kitchens between new york and philadelphia. sean joined the momofuku team in 2007, spending time at noodle bar, ssam bar, and then moving to ko in 2009 as sous chef. he became ko's chef de cuisine in 2011.
benjamin greeno,
chef de cuisine, seiōbo
raised in durham, england, ben has spent extensive time in european kitchens; he has worked in places such as noma and the paul in copenhagen, the grand hotel uriage in uriage les bains, france, and restaurant sat bains in nottingham. he joined momofuku in 2011, working in all of the new york city restaurants before heading to sydney in october to help open seiōbo.
richard hargreave,
sommelier, seiōbo
originally from the UK, richard moved to sydney to work at quay restaurant before becoming head sommelier at bilson's. he has a love of small producers that make wine their own way with minimal intervention, and loves creating Interesting food pairings with them. richard is currently working towards the court of master sommelier advanced certificate, having finished top of the country in the 2012 australian exams.
sean heller,
chef de cuisine, noodle bar (ny)
sean hails from rhode island, where he began working in kitchens at the age of thirteen. in rhode island, he started cooking at the clarke cooke house, and has spent time in boston, where he worked at aquitaine bistro, pigalee, and no. 9 park, and new york where he cooked at db bistro modern and café boulud. he spent time traveling around and cooking in italy before arriving at momofuku noodle bar in may of 2009.
dean hoebbel,
operations, papercut
dean was hired as a dishwasher at boca in cincinnati at the ripe age of 13. he was eventually promoted to busboy. he completed his undergrad at temple university in 2007 and obtained his masters from george washington university in 2009. dean likes the bearcats, bengals & reds.
ali hynes,
hr, papercut
ali has had two consistent passions in her life, dance and food/hospitality. after graduating from umbc she moved from maryland to nyc. for the past 8 years she worked her way from host to human resources manager at b.r. guest. she is delighted to have joined the dynamic team at momofuku in late 2011.
sonjia hyon,
operations manager, má pêche
sonjia grew up in illinois, california, and south korea. prior to joining má pêche, she has lead an itinerant career working in marketing, operations, and programs in the music industry, arts non-profits, and film festivals. most recently, she was a professor in asian american studies at hunter college. she has a phd in american studies from the university of minnesota.
kate inserra,
foh manager, ssäm bar
kate was born and raised in the garden state. she began working in restaurants at an early age with stints in both the kitchen and in the dining room. she is a graduate of the french culinary institute and joined the momofuku team in december 2012. kate lives in brooklyn with her chef husband and rescued pup.
peter jensen,
sous chef, shōtō
peter was born and raised in fyn, denmark and developed his culinary skills in copenhagen spending 4 years at the paul. he joined momofuku ko in 2010 first as a stage and then as a line cook. after recently spending time back in his homeland, he is now a part of team toronto as sous chef at shōtō.
sara jimenez,
general manager, ssäm bar
sara started her restaurant career when she was eighteen, working at family-owned restaurant da pino in dublin. she then moved to london to work at richard corrigan’s bentley’s, then fergus henderson’s st. john bread & wine, finally landing at momofuku ssäm bar in 2011.
kathryn johnson,
public relations, papercut
kathryn was born and raised in rural alabama. after graduating from auburn university (war eagle!), she moved to new york to work in television production. she joined the momofuku team in the fall of 2012. kathryn loves canoeing, documentaries, and german-style breakfasts.
oliver kakos,
foh manager, noodle bar (ny)
oliver grew up in minnesota, eating hot-dish and making maple syrup. he moved to new york in 2005, where he helped open brooklyn’s sette, then moved to applewood restaurant, where he worked for five years as a server and wine buyer. in 2009, oliver joined the opening crew at má pêche as a server, then captain, then was promoted to manager in 2010. in 2012, oliver joined the noodle bar team.
maddie kershow,
events, papercut
maddie joined momofuku in october 2011. she studied political communication at the university of virginia and worked in corporate/political pr prior to jumping ship to work in the food world. she is currently pursuing a masters in food studies at nyu.
josh kleinman,
project director, momofuku
inspired by a summer job as a cook, josh decided to attend the culinary institute of america, from which he graduated with honors. he began his career as a line cook at oceana. then, josh worked at nicole’s, and in 2002 moved to artisanal to serve as the executive sous chef under terrance brennan + dave cox. josh joined bouley upstairs in 2004 as executive sous chef, working side-by-side with david bouley. he then spent two years at cookshop, finally joining the momofuku team in 2008.
teruya kobayashi,
commissary exec. sous chef, momofuku toronto
teruya was born in osaka, japan. he started traveling at the age of three around the world due to his fathers line of work. his family was always interested in eating different things and trying new things. but at home, his mother would always prepare japanese home style meals, which was always creative and fresh. she showed him how food can be artistic and something which can evoke emotion in people. this appreciation for food led him to pursue a profession in the restaurant industry.
a.j. lapointe,
sous chef, noodle bar (to)
born and raised in ottawa ontario, a.j. started in restaurants at the
age of 15. a.j. is a graduate of culinary management from algonquin
college in 2008, and most recently the sous chef at the black cat
bistro in his hometown.
johnny leach,
chef de cuisine, má pêche
born and raised in portland, oregon, johnny both attended culinary school and held his first kitchen job, at marché, in his home state. he then moved to nyc where he first worked at town, then joined del posto under chef mark ladner. he joined momofuku in september of 2008 as a line cook at ko. in 2010, he joined má pêche as a sous chef, and was eventually promoted to chef de cuisine in December 2011.
eugene lee,
general manager, noodle bar
eugene is originally from oregon, and legend has it he worked as a hibachi chef at a local restaurant while growing up. he moved to new york to attend college, and has been living in brooklyn since.
charles leong,
sommelier-at-large, seiōbo
charles has joined the seiōbo team as a wine and beverage consultant. he brings years of diverse experiences, including consulting, helping restaurants like mg garage and darley street thai set up wine lists, wine distribution, service, and management. he lives in bondi, and enjoys barbeque, burgundy, and long walks on the beach.
debbie liao,
boh admin assistant, momofuku toronto
debbie was born and raised in India in a restaurant family and has lived her life experiencing many different cultures. through all these cultural experiences one thing has always held true, her love for food and all different cuisines! working in restaurants across the world, debbie moved to toronto in 2007 where she graduated with honours in business administration in early 2012. after graduating, she joined momofuku and is proud to be a part of this company.
beth lieberman,
beverage director, momofuku
beth may be the only leed-ap certified sommelier in town. she left a career in urban design and development to cut her wine-stained teeth with david lynch at the john dory. at momofuku ko, she resists the temptation to pair every dish with champagne or beer, and expands the selection to include small production and natural or land-driven wines.
lawrence lindner,
sous chef, má pêche
lawrence grew up cooking with his parents and grandparents. after high school, he ran his first restaurant in his home town of toledo, ohio. he held many jobs, from mechanic to bartender, before attending the culinary institute of america. after graduating school, he moved to puerto rico where he worked with chef paul carmichael. he later worked in park city, utah for stein eriksen management, and at the mandarin oriental in miami. he's currently loving nyc and being a part of the má pêche team.
chase lovecky,
sous chef, seiōbo
chase decided to attend culinary school in 2005 after spending time in the kitchen while growing up on the coast of maine. after graduating, he moved back to maine, spending the next three years working in portland for several restaurants including duck fat, 555, and hugo's. he moved to new york in 2009 for a position at jean-georges, then joined the team at momofuku ko in 2010. chase moved to sydney in 2011 to join the opening team of seiōbo.
rachel lye,
commissary purchasing manager, momofuku toronto
born and raised just outside of toronto rachel discovered her passion for food at a young age in the kitchens of her parents and aunts. working in a butcher shop during high school sealed the deal and after university rachel traded textbooks for cookbooks and hasn't look back. she is thrilled to join the momofuku team in toronto and is looking forward to the new experiences and challenges ahead.
heather machovec,
sous chef, ssäm bar
heather was born in south korea. she was adopted with her twin sister and grew up in northern virginia and the suburbs of atlanta. while studying art she decided to follow her love of cooking and attended culinary school. cooking has taken her many places and has led her to ssäm bar.
tara macmullen,
service director, momofuku
tara comes to new york from charlotte, nc. she has been working in food service since the age of fifteen, building the foundation of her hospitality education at five points, back forty, and savoy restaurants before joining momofuku in october 2010.
marguerite mariscal,
digital media, papercut
after spending her formative years in new york city, marguerite attended bowdoin college in brunswick, maine. soon after graduating, she returned home and set up shop at momofuku in the fall of 2011. they hired her two months later.
brandon mcdonald,
sous chef, ssäm bar
brandon hails from charleston,sc, where he attended culinary school and held his first restaurant jobs. he made the move to nyc in 2010 to further his education and career, and landed a job at a voce. he joined the ssäm bar crew in 2011 as a line cook, and was promoted to sous chef in 2012.
ryan miller,
product development chef, culinary lab
ryan is originally from north carolina, and moved north to attend the culinary institute of america. he started his career cooking at town and cru, joining the team at momofuku ko in 2008 as a line cook. after a year and a half at ko, ryan packed up and moved to europe where he spent time working at several restaurants, including noma, vendome, and mugaritz. upon returning to new york, he rejoined the momofuku team at ssäm bar as chef de cuisine. in 2012, he moved to the test kitchen.
maura mcguigan,
bar manager, booker and dax
maura mcguigan started bartending at age 18 at the ramada inn in edinboro, pa. since then she has led the bar programs at the violet hour in chicago, daniel boulud's bar pleiades and opened the rose in jackson, wy. she loves whiskey, tea, cookies and bikram yoga.
paula navarrete,
sous chef, daishō
paula was born and raised in colombia until her early teens. she has worked in the mayan riviera, north 44, and colborne lane. recently, she took a year off to learn butchery at sanagans meat locker. paula loves latin culture and food and joined the momofuku team in 2012.
robby nelson,
bar manager, booker and dax
robby is a mountain-loving and green chile-eating native of albuquerque, nm. after pursuing a (somewhat) competitive running career, robby struck out west to california, opting for the foggy climes of san francisco. the food culture there inspired him to seek out culinary adventures, bringing him to the talented booker and dax team. on the off chance that you can’t find him at the bar, you should check nearby running paths or quiet places to read.
rebecca palkovics,
public relations, papercut
rebecca grew up in bucks county, pennsylvania where her first job was making and serving atomic (oversized) sundaes at a restaurant and dairy bar. she received her ba from the university of chicago and her masters in food studies from nyu. before joining momofuku in 2012, rebecca worked in marketing for a wine and spirits importer. she loves swimming, british television and bubbles (of the alcoholic variety).
alex mw pemoulié,
finance, papercut
alex is originally from seattle, wa and has been with momofuku since 2007. alex began working in the hospitality industry as a teenager and never saw a reason to stop. in addition to working at momofuku, alex owns a restaurant with her husband in her new hometown of jersey city. she can't understand why jersey gets such a bad rap.
anoop pillarisetti,
operations, papercut
this is anoop's second time at momofuku. he started early in 2009 as an intern and worked his way up to web and tech maestro. in late 2010, he decided to explore the world outside of momofuku. then, in the summer of 2012, he came back and joined the operations department. anoop grew up in louisiana, studied political science at vassar college, and loves fried seafood and anything that is fermented or preserved.
josh pinsky,
sous chef, ko
grew up in northern virginia. culinary school in new york. moved to san francisco in 2006. sous chef at random venues. wanted to cook in new york city. relocated here in 2011. knew a guy who knew a guy.
grant puster,
finance, papercut
grant has been around the block: atlanta - colorado - italy - los angeles - london - san francisco - new york. he studied economics at occidental college and worked at ubs investment bank before wising up and moving into the hospitality industry. prior to joining momofuku, grant worked in the beverage department for 13th street entertainment. he lives in brooklyn and enjoys wine, food, the outdoors and happy people.
chris raftery,
beverage liaison, noodle bar (ny)
chris has been working in food and beverage for over ten years and claims to have at some point worked every front of house position; most notably, fried chicken delivery person. after a few years managing in the hotel food and beverage world, chris joined momofuku in 2010. chris is passionate about wine, and occasionally gets to drink the stuff. he is an asa and cms-certified sommelier. chris enjoys the musical stylings of the misfits, the smiths, and radiohead; all perhaps a little too much.
camille robin,
foh manager, noodle bar (ny)
camille was born and raised in the san francisco bay area, and found a love of pastry and cuisine of all kinds working both back and front of house positions since she was 13. after graduating from college with a degree in communications, she found herself back in the culinary world, and started work with daniel boulud's dinex group before coming to momofuku noodle bar.
kimberly rubin,
project coordinator, papercut
originally from chicago, kimberly grew up in midcoast maine. she happily returned to urban living to attend columbia university, which she graduated from in may 2012. in her spare time, she is an avid amateur apiarist.
matthew “rudy” rudofker,
chef de cuisine, ssäm bar
matt’s first kitchen experience was at vetri restaurant in his hometown of philadelphia. in 2005, he moved to nyc and worked under some of new york’s best young chefs, first at oceana with cornelius gallagher followed by two years at cru under shea gallante. matt then spent time at daniel, where he was part of the team that earned both four stars from the new york times, and 3 michelin stars. before joining ssäm bar, matt completed a stage at the fat duck restaurant in england.
jordan salcito,
wine director, momofuku
jordan’s career in hospitality began at age 14, as a barista in denver, co. she’s been intrigued by wine all her life – her italian grandfather used to make (purportedly terrible) wine in his basement. jordan’s nyc restaurant career includes stints as a host at wd~50, cook and busboy at daniel, and sommelier/manager at eleven madison park. she works harvests in burgundy, tuscany, and patagonia regularly, is a master sommelier candidate, and lives in ny with her husband and two plants.
milana saragossi,
foh admin assistant, momofuku toronto
born and raised in downtown toronto, milana got her start in the restaurant industry as a teenager, working at susur lee's restaurants. she's currently completing her ba in english from the university of toronto. milana joined the momofuku team in september 2012, just prior to the toronto openings. she has a strong appreciation for delicious food & drinks, her boyfriend chris, and her family.
kathleen shattock,
foh manager, noodle bar (to)
kathleen has been working in restaurants since the impressionable age of 14, but it was only when she got shamed into realizing she couldn't cook that she really started exploring her love for food and drink. originally from vancouver, she's called toronto home for 6 years now and after working at places like kultura and the miller tavern, is officially a convert. her favorite things are rollercoasters, balloons, and really, sublimely good food. kathleen is very happy to be joining the momofuku team.
stanley simon,
office manager, papercut
stanley was born and raised in new york city and began working at the age of 14 at the fine dining giant taco bell/pizza hut. he's worked in the non-profit sector with the bzh new york & the ymca of greater new york prior to joining the momofuku team in the summer of 2012. he enjoys watching & playing sports, watching the history channel, and loves being a couch potato on his days off.
jed smith,
sous chef, shōtō
as an english boy, jed started cooking in london for two french men pierre gagnaire and jean-denis lebras. he then moved to new york to cook for david chang. he had a short break cooking in montreal hanging out with martin picard and his buddy vincent. now he is in t-town, back with david.
loraine snapper,
hr, papercut
loraine has spent her entire life in queens, new york, her most favorite place on earth! she recently received her ba sociology from queens college, and is now pursuing a masters of human resource management at nyu.
steve sousa,
foh manager, daishō
steven has worked in restaurants since the age of 15, but he became passionate about food and wine after completing his bsc. in psychology at the university of toronto. he went on to complete his sommelier diploma with the canadian association of professional sommeliers.
lauren souther,
beverage liaison, ko
lauren grew up in eugene, oregon. after school and travel took her to south america, she made her home in ny teaching high school spanish. when she began to pursue her interest in wine she moved back west to portland, oregon. she returned to new york by way of europe where she landed as manager and wine director at prune. at ko she enjoys both the freedom and precision of pairing sake, beer and wine.
fiona thomas,
foh manager, má pêche
fiona grew up on a biodynamic farm in pennsylvania. her first job was at the kimberton inn. she moved to new york city to go to school and has been here since. after working at má pêche as a captain for over a year, fiona became a manager at noodle bar. in 2012, she returned to má pêche.
elizabeth tilton,
operations manager, ssäm bar
elizabeth tilton was born and raised in new orleans and attended the university of virginia where she studied american studies and completed the pre-medical track. after graduating, she returned to new orleans to pursue a career in pastry arts. elizabeth worked for chef tariq hanna at sucre and later joined the pastry team at chef john besh’s restaurant august. deciding to move to nyc, she joined the management team at ssäm bar in october 2012.
veronica trevizo,
sous chef, noodle bar
veronica hails from california, where she was born in san diego and attended the california culinary academy, and worked for various places such as the four seasons in san diego, and jardinière and michael minas in san francisco. she also spent time working at spagos in maui, and all over europe, completing stages in spain and at noma in copenhagen, before relocating to new york to work at momofuku.
antonia vitale,
hr, papercut
antonia was born and raised in the san francisco bay area. she worked in restaurants through her undergraduate studies, and in finance through her graduate studies (in urban affairs and food policy). she has happily made her way back into the restaurant industry where she feels right at home. antonia has two cats and a very small dog named scout. she is a professional amateur cook.
hans vogels,
executive sous chef, noodle bar (to)
by way of the grace maternity hospital, hans got into restaurants after graduating from the culinary
institute of canada starting with an apprenticeship and 5 subsequent years at the church restaurant in stratford. hans has made toronto his home since 2000 working for the likes of susur lee and marc
thuet before moving on to executive chef positions at the spoke club and turf lounge. a fan of proper football and his ’64 chevy.
clayton wells,
sous chef, seiōbo
clayton started his hospitality career by working as an apprentice at some of the his hometown of sydney’s finest hotels. in 2006, he moved to quay restaurant where he worked as chef de partie. starting in 2007, he worked with tetsuya wakuda as a junior sous chef, further developing his love of Japanese flavours. in 2009, clayton moved abroad, to london, where he worked with nuno mendes at the loft project and his restaurant viajante as sous chef. he returned to sydney in 2011 to join the momfuku team.
tristan willey,
bar manager, booker and dax
tristan, originally from albuquerque, nm, has been working in fine dining since 19, but found his passion for making and serving spirits and cocktails after moving to nyc in 2010. he has spent the last two years distilling bourbon and moonshine at kings county distillery and bartending at amor y amargo. when not at ssäm bar he can be found running through brooklyn, or drinking bourbon straight out of the barrel.
sue wright,
finance, papercut
sue graduated in applied mathematics engineering from university of virginia and held previous positions in data analysis and IT consulting. she has been working for momofuku since 2010.
