matthew, originally from philadelphia, became interested in food and cooking at a young age. matt’s first kitchen experience was at philly’s acclaimed vetri restaurant. in 2005, matt moved to new york and worked for some of new yorks best young chefs, first at oceana under cornelius gallagher followed by two years at cru under shea gallante. at daniel, he was part of the team that earned both four ny times stars and 3 michelin stars. he also had the opportunity to complete a stage at the fat duck restaurant in england. he now joins the team at ssäm bar looking to continually grow and contribute.

inspired by a summer job as a cook, josh decided to attend the culinary institute of america straight out of high school. after graduating with honors, josh returned to new york city and began his career as a line cook at oceana where he developed his discipline and commitment to quality. following oceana, josh worked at nicole’s, and then in 2002 moved to artisanal to serve as the executive sous chef under chefs terrance brennan and dave cox. in 2004, josh left artisanal to work side-by-side with acclaimed chef david bouley as executive sous chef at bouley upstairs. josh then moved on to become the executive sous chef at cookshop, where he remained for two years. in january 2008, he brought his experience and skills to momofuku.

john, originally from alabama, had a love for cooking at an early age in the kitchen with his parents. he attended culinary school at johnson & wales in charleston, sc then received a bachelors in hospitably management in providence. after college john traveled to luxembourg to train with chef lea linster. upon returning to new york, he honed his skills as a line cook gramercy tavern, per se, and diner before joining the team at ssäm bar.

tara is originally from charlotte, nc. though she has worked in food service since age fifteen, she received her real hospitality education at five points, back forty, and savoy restaurants before joining the momofuku team in october 2010. tara can recite from memory all of the ‘state of being’ verbs and has had this talent since the fourth grade.

kristine grew up in minnesota eating lefse and lutefisk. after spending a year in france during high school, she found out how much she loved dining.  after working at a number of restaurants in minneapolis and nyc, she joined the opening team at má pêche in november 2009 as a server and captain. in june 2011 she joined ssäm bar as a foh manager.