David Chang (
Korean: Chang Seok-ho장석호; born August 5, 1977)[4] is an American
restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the
Momofuku restaurant group.[5][6] In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two
Michelin stars, which the restaurant has retained each year since.[7] In 2011, he co-founded the influential food magazine Lucky Peach, which lasted for 25 quarterly volumes into 2017.[8][9][10] In 2018, Chang created, produced, and starred in a
Netflix original series called Ugly Delicious,[11] and through his Majordomo Media group, he has produced and/or starred in more television and podcasts.[12] On November 29, 2020, he became the first celebrity to win the $1,000,000 top prize for his charity, Southern Smoke Foundation, and the fourteenth overall million dollar winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.[13]
Early life and education
Chang was born in Arlington, Virginia, the son of Korean parents, mother Woo Chung Hi "Sherri," who was born in
Kaesong, and Chang Jin Pil, later Joseph P. Chang, who was born in
Pyongyang.[1] Chang grew up in Arlington, with two older brothers and one sister. Chang's parents emigrated from Korea as adults in the 1960s.[14][15][5] As a child, Chang was a competitive
golfer who participated in a number of junior tournaments.[16] Chang attended
Georgetown Prep and then
Trinity College, where he majored in religious studies.[14] After graduating from college, Chang pursued a variety of jobs, including teaching English in
Japan, then bussing tables and holding finance positions in New York City.[17]
On a 2022 episode of the TV series Finding Your Roots, it was revealed that one of Chang's paternal ancestors was
Jang Bogo, a famous mariner and military leader of the Medieval Korean kingdom of
Silla.[18]
Culinary training and career
Chang started attending the French Culinary Institute (FCI)—now known as the
International Culinary Center—in
New York City in 2000. While he was training, he also worked part-time at Mercer Kitchen in
Manhattan and got a job answering phones at Tom Colicchio's Craft restaurant. Chang stayed at Craft for two years and then moved 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, where his idol,
Alex Lee, had worked. But Chang soon grew "completely dissatisfied with the whole fine dining scene".[17][19]
In 2004, Chang opened his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar in the
East Village.[20] Chang's website states momofuku means "lucky peach",[21] but the restaurant also shares a name with
Momofuku Ando[22]—the inventor of
instant noodles.[23]
In August 2006, Chang's second restaurant, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, opened a few blocks away.[24][25]The Infatuation rated it a high 8.4/10, calling the menu "inventive, exciting, and different."[26] In March 2008, Chang opened Momofuku Ko, a 12-seat restaurant that takes reservations ten[27] days in advance, online only, on a first-come-first-served basis.[28] Later that year, Chang expanded Momofuku Ssäm Bar into an adjacent space with his colleague
Christina Tosi, whom he had hired to run Momofuku's pastry program. They named the new space Momofuku Milk Bar, serving soft serve, along with cookies, pies, cakes and other treats, many of these inspired by foods Tosi had as a child.[29][30]
In May 2009, it was reported that Momofuku Milk Bar's
Crack Pie,
Cereal Milk, and Compost Cookies were in the process of being trademarked.[31] In October 2009, Chang and former New York Times food 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.[32]
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."[33][34] The restaurant was awarded three hats from the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide in its first year and was named Best New Restaurant.[35]
In March 2011, Chang announced that he would be bringing Momofuku to
Toronto, and opened it in late 2012. The restaurant is located in a three-story glass cube in the heart of downtown Toronto. Momofuku Toronto is made up of three restaurants, Noodle Bar, Daishō and Shōtō, as well as a bar, Nikai.[36][37] Daishō and Shōtō closed in late 2017,[38] and the space was refurbished. A new Momofuku restaurant, Kojin, opened in the space in 2018.[39]
Chang launched Fuku, a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken sandwiches, in June 2015.[40] In 2016, Chang launched his first digital-only restaurant, which offers a menu only for delivery in Midtown East and takes orders taken via an app named
Ando.[41] Later in 2016, Chang participated in a project hosted by a Silicon Valley startup named Impossible Foods. He prepared food that was later added on the menu of one of his restaurants, Momofuku Nishi, as a partnership between Impossible Foods and David Chang.[42]
In July 2017, Chang announced the opening of his first West Coast restaurant in
Los Angeles. The restaurant, Majordomo, opened in January 2018.[43][44] In May 2017, Chang announced the opening of a new restaurant at the
Hudson Yards development in New York.[45] In June 2018, Má Pêche closed after operating for 8 years.[46]
On December 30, 2019, Chang opened the 250-seat Majordomo Meat & Fish restaurant in
The Palazzo tower of
The Venetian Las Vegas.[47] In March 2020, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Momofuku restaurant group made the decision to temporarily close its restaurants.[48] Later that year, they decided to consolidate some restaurants, and permanently close Momofuku Nishi in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, and Momofuku CCDC in
Washington, D.C.[49] In 2021 they also closed Momofuku Seiōbo in
Sydney.[50]
Chang's Majordomo and Moon Palace closed at Palazzo on June 6, 2022.[51]
Momofuku Ssäm Bar closed September 30, 2023.[52]
Chang's two-Michelin starred restaurant Momofuku Ko, located in New York, NY, closed on November 4, 2023.[53]
In summer 2011, David Chang released the first issue of his Lucky Peachfood magazine, a quarterly publication created with Peter Meehan and published by McSweeney's.[58] The theme of Issue 1 was Ramen.[59] 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
New York Times bestsellers list.[60] Contributors to Issue 2 include Bourdain,
Harold McGee, Momofuku Milk Bar's Christina Tosi,
Daniel Patterson and
Russell Chatham. Issue 3: Chefs and Cooks, was released on March 13 and was also a New York Times bestseller.[61] Each subsequent issue continued to focus on a particular theme.
Lucky Peach discontinued after 25 issues in 2017.[8][9][10]
Podcast
He has his own show on
the Ringer podcast network (The Dave Chang Show). He also is a host on a
spin off called The Recipe Club with guest host Chris Ying.[62]
Public persona
Epicurious described Chang as having a "bad-boy attitude" for having no reservations or vegetarian options.[63] 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."[64]
David Chang serves on the Food Council at
City Harvest and the Culinary Council at
Food Bank for New York City, two hunger-relief organizations.[65] He is also a member of the board of trustees at
MOFAD, the Museum of Food and Drink in New York City.[66]
David Chang; Priya Krishna (October 26, 2021). Cooking at Home or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (And Love My Microwave): A Cookbook. Clarkson N Potter Publishers/Ten Speed.
ISBN9781524759254.
Restaurants
Momofuku
2004: Momofuku Noodle Bar (New York, NY)
2006: Momofuku Ssäm Bar (New York, NY)
Booker and Dax – located in Ssäm Bar (New York, NY)
2008–2023: Momofuku Ko (New York, NY)
2010–2018: Má Pêche – located in Chambers Hotel (New York, NY)
2011–2021: Momofuku Seiōbo – located in The Star (Sydney, Australia)
2012–2022: Momofuku (Toronto, Canada) – included Momofuku Noodle Bar, Nikai, Daishō and Shōtō
Noodle Bar (Toronto, Canada)
Nikai (Toronto, Canada)
Daishō (Toronto, Canada)
Shōtō (Toronto, Canada)
2015–2020: Momofuku CCDC (Washington, DC)
2016–2020: Momofuku Nishi (New York, NY)
2017: Momofuku Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)
2018: Majordōmo (Los Angeles, CA)
Fuku
2015: Fuku – East Village (New York, NY)
2015: Fuku+ – Midtown; located in Chambers Hotel (New York, NY)
2017: Fuku – Financial District (New York, NY)
Fuku – Battery Park City (New York, NY)
Fuku – Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
Fuku – Citi Field (Queens, NY)
Fuku – Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
Fuku - Hudson Yards (New York, NY)
Fuku - Chancery Market (Wilmington, DE)
Milk Bar
2008: Momofuku Milk Bar – East Village (New York, NY)
Momofuku Milk Bar – Midtown (New York, NY)
Momofuku Milk Bar – Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY)
Momofuku Milk Bar – Upper West Side (New York, NY)
Momofuku Milk Bar – Carroll Gardens (Brooklyn, NY)
In 2021, David Chang attempted to trademark "SSÄM SAUCE" but was rejected on grounds of too generic.[75] The trademark attempt has since been abandoned.
In 2024, David Chang's company, Momofuku, drew criticism after sending cease and desist notices over the use of their trademark "chili crunch".[76] In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Momofuku argued that the trademark was not intended to stifle any competition surrounding the sauces, stating that "When we created our product, we wanted a name we could own and intentionally picked 'Chili Crunch' to further differentiate it from the broader chili crisp category."[77] On April 12, Chang issued a public apology regarding the issue on his podcast, The Dave Chang Show, stating that Momofuku had not intended to upset with their legal actions, and noted that Momofuku would no longer attempt to enforce the trademark.[78]
^Mr. Ando's given name is "
百福" and literally means "hundred luck". Momo is an old Japanese pronunciation for 'hundred' and a
homophone of the word 'peach' (桃).