Korean-American jointly wins outstanding chef award

David Chang

By Kwon Ji-youn

David Chang, a Korean-American chef and founder of the restaurant group Momofuku, tied with Paul Kahan, a leading restaurateur in Chicago, for the Outstanding Chef award at the 2013 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards held on Monday.

Chang won the award in recognition of his first restaurant, the Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York.

“It’s an honor to have won alongside my role model and hero, Paul Kahan,” he said.

The ceremony was held at the Lincoln Center in New York. The James Beard Foundation, an organization that aims to develop and preserve culinary practices in the United States, hosted the event.

Chang was born in Virginia and graduated from Trinity College in New York. He later attended the French Culinary Institute to become a chef.

After building his career at several American and Japanese restaurants, he founded the Momofuku brand in 2004.

The restaurant group also manages the Momofuku Ssam Bar, which features rice-and-condiment wrap dishes, and Momofuku Ko, an intimate 12-seater restaurant.

He continued to expand his group, opening affiliated restaurants in Sydney and Toronto, Canada.

For his accomplishments, Chang ranked on the 2012 40 Under 40 list of 40 successful entrepreneurs under the age of 40, selected by Fortune Magazine. He was also placed on the Time 100 list, a global list of the top 100 influential people in 2010.