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
Everyone tries to compare cooks to rock stars. I see more comparisons to the fashion world.
Food, to me, is always about cooking and eating with those you love and care for.
I think the basic thing that home cooks can learn how to do is just season properly... If the home cook realized how little salt they use compared to what's needed, it would make their food taste better.
Chef Thomas Keller was an inspiration to me and many, many young cooks like me. He told us that the role of the new, modern chef is different.
If I have a really bad cook or a bad manager or bad sous-chef, I previously would have fired them or lost my temper. But now I realize that if I'm so right, then I should be able to communicate it so clearly that they get it.
In New York, we're always confined with spaces. Our restaurants are difficult to navigate as cooks and to operate. We fight against the buildings we run in New York.
Say a child raises this beautiful beet. It's going to give her a sense of ownership, and that changes everything. You stop taking things for granted; you become less wasteful.
People are trying to figure out what American food is; it's certainly an amalgamation.
Open your refrigerator, your freezer, your kitchen cupboards, and look at the labels on your food. You'll find 'natural flavor' or 'artificial flavor' in just about every list of ingredients. The similarities between these two broad categories are far more significant than the differences.
I've never bribed my way into a restaurant. I've never slipped a C-note or greased a palm. In truth, I've never even considered it. I've assumed, of course, that people do such things.
I wanted to disprove the notion that you couldn't open a great restaurant in a casino.
I was quite cocky, but having been hailed as this great young golfer, I couldn't even make the high school golf team once I got there. I had a big dose of humble pie then, and ever since, I've always known that there is always someone out there better than you, more talented. Always.
Just because something's been good in the past doesn't mean it will continue to be good.
When I first started to cook, I would cook these elaborate meals, but I rarely cook at home now.