David Chang
David Chang
David Chang is an American restaurateur, author, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group, which includes Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, Má Pêche, Milk Bar and Momofuku Ko in New York City, Momofuku Seiōbo in Sydney, Australia, the Momofuku Toronto restaurants Momofuku Noodle Bar, Nikai, Daishō and Shōtō, and Momofuku CCDC in Washington, DC. In 2009 Ko was awarded 2 Michelin stars, which it has retained each year since. Chang attended Georgetown Prep and...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChef
Date of Birth5 August 1977
CityVienna, VA
CountryUnited States of America
Yes, natural is good and healthy, and whole foods are important. However, experimentation is important, too.
I'm not cooking every day anymore, and that's the biggest withdrawal. Cooking is honest work. Now I don't know how to measure myself.
If people ask me, 'What do you think could improve in Toronto dining,' I'd say there's nothing to improve on.
Any processed chicken from any place - I'll order it in a heartbeat. I'm very picky about my pork, though.
The Momofuku Culinary Lab started as a space where we could focus on creating and innovating. I didn't want us to worry about working on projects in a restaurant; there are just too many distractions in service and running a kitchen to be able to focus on creating your dishes.
Growing up, my dad owned a restaurant in Washington, DC, and food was something I was passionate about. But when I finally got into it, I felt like it was so late in the game; that's why I worked seven days a week at Craft and Mercer Kitchen. I wanted to see how far I could take it.
The process and organization leading up to cooking the egg can tell you a lot about the cook.
My dad was in the restaurant business, but I didn't really think about following him. Had I done better at school, I don't know if I would have been a chef.
New York gives us a wide colour palette to cook from. We have cuisines from around the world, and that lets us pick and choose.
Shouldn't a three-course meal be 90 minutes? Do you know how hard you have to edit your menu to pull that off? Twenty-seven minutes. That's the average meal at Jiro's in Tokyo.
I love to eat sushi, and, you know, those flavors and wasabi and really eating spoonfuls of it... I would just mix it and put it on everything, literally.
Fear is a driving force for most of the things that I do. I don't know if that's healthy.
America is a country of abundance, but our food culture is sad - based on huge portions and fast food. Let's stop with the excuses and start creating something better.
Be careful what you wish for - getting to be a successful business and maintaining it is so hard. Anyone can be good one night; being good over several years is incredibly difficult.