David Chang - Career

Career

As a child, Chang was a competitive golfer who participated in a number of junior tournaments, several of which Tiger Woods was also a participant in. After graduating from college with no particular plan, Chang pursued a variety of jobs, including teaching English in Japan, then bussing tables and holding finance positions in New York City. He worked at Mercer Kitchen in Manhattan and in the year 2000, got a job answering phones at Tom Colicchio's Craft restaurant. Chang stayed at Craft for two years and then moved back to Japan to work at a small soba shop, followed by a restaurant in Tokyo's Park Hyatt Hotel. Upon returning to the U.S. Chang worked at Café Boulud, but soon grew "completely dissatisfied with the whole fine dining scene".

In 2004, Chang opened his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village. Chang's website states momofuku means 'lucky peach' ( 桃福 "momofuku" sounds Japanese, but there is no word "桃福" in Japanese), but it is likely a reference to Momofuku Ando—the inventor of instant noodles. In August 2006, Chang's second restaurant, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, opened a few blocks away. In March 2008, Chang opened Momofuku Ko, a 12 seat restaurant that takes reservations six days in advance, online only, on a first-come-first-served basis. The highly limited seating, along with Chang's popularity in New York, has caused a furor, generating frustration for both influential and ordinary people who have failed to secure a reservation.

In November 2008, Chang expanded Momofuku Ssäm Bar into an adjacent space, which he named Momofuku Milk Bar, serving soft serve, along with cookies, pies, cakes and other treats. In May 2009 it was reported that Momofuku Milk Bar's Crack Pie, Cereal Milk, and Compost Cookies are in the process of being trademarked. In April 2011, Momofuku Milk Bar moved across the street from Ssäm Bar on 13th Street, and Ssäm Bar now uses the space as a bar at night and a lunch counter with a duck-focused menu during the day.

In October 2009, Chang and former New York Times writer Peter Meehan published Momofuku, a highly-anticipated cookbook containing detailed recipes from Chang's restaurants.

In May 2010, Chang opened Má Pêche in midtown Manhattan. There is a location of Momofuku Milk Bar there as well.

He appeared in the fifth episode of Season One of HBO's Treme alongside fellow chefs Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert and Wylie Dufresne. His presence on the show has expanded in the second season, as one of the characters, a chef who has moved to New York city, takes a job in his restaurant.

In November 2010, Chang announced the opening of his first restaurant outside the US in Sydney, Australia. Momofuku Seiōbo opened in October 2011 at the redeveloped Star City Casino in Southern-hemisphere. In an article with the Sydney Morning Herald, Chang was quoted as saying: 'I've just fallen in love with Australia. I'm just fascinated by the food scene in Sydney and Melbourne. People are excited about food in Australia. It's fresh and it's energetic.' Momofuku Seiōbo opened in late October 2011. Momofuku Seiōbo was awarded three hats from the The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide in its first year and was named Best New Restaurant.

In March 2011, Chang announced that he would be bringing Momofuku to Toronto. He opened Momofuku Toronto in September 2012, it is located in a three-story glass cube in the heart of downtown Toronto. Momofuku Toronto is made up of four restaurants, these are Noodle Bar, Nikai, Daishō and Shōtō. .

In summer 2011, David Chang released the first issue of his Lucky Peach food journal, created with Peter Meehan and published by McSweeney’s. The theme of Issue 1 was Ramen. Contributors included Anthony Bourdain, Wylie Dufresne, Ruth Reichl, and Harold McGee. The theme of Issue 2 is The Sweet Spot, and Issue 2 reached #3 on the NY Times bestsellers list. Contributors to Issue 2 include Anthony Bourdain, Harold McGee, Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi, Daniel Patterson and Russell Chatham. Issue 3: Chefs and Cooks, was released on March 13th and was also a New York Times Bestseller. The fourth issue of Lucky Peach was published on July 3rd and was entitled the American Food issue. The fifth issue of Lucky Peach is about Chinatown and will be released in November 2012.

Noted for his "bad-boy attitude (no reservations, no vegetarian options)", Chang created a controversy in 2009 by making dismissive remarks about California chefs, telling Anthony Bourdain "They don’t manipulate food, they just put figs on a plate.” He was also listed on the 2010 list of the Time 100 Most Influential People.

Chang has served as a guest judge on Top Chef: All Stars.

In 2011 he was a guest judge on Masterchef Australia.

In the fall of 2012, David — along with executive producer Anthony Bourdain — launched a 16 episode series on PBS called The Mind of a Chef.