david chang

Founder of the world famous Momofuku restaurant group, David Chang is a restaurateur, chef, TV personality and author who has changed the way America eats. The six-time James Beard-award winning chef opened ramen joint Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC’s East Village in 2004 and introduced America to a whole new style of restaurant with food focussed on what “cooks really wanted to eat”. He then unleashed restaurant Momofuku Ko on the world in 2008, which was soon awarded two Michelin stars the following year and has retained them each year since. Now a leader in the restaurant industry, his enterprise stretches from Sydney, Australia to Toronto, Canada and also includes his growing Fuku fried chicken enterprise.

Chang is the creator, producer, host and star of critically-acclaimed Netflix original documentary series Ugly Delicious, which examined the sociological, cultural, and culinary history of different popular foods. He has also produced and appeared in many more podcasts and television shows through his Majordomo Media group. Chang became the first celebrity to win the top prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2020, winning a million dollars for his charity, Southern Smoke Foundation. He has been recognized as GQ’s Man of the Year and is the author of New York Times bestselling cookbook, Momofuku.

Born in Arlington, Virginia to Korean parents, Chang moved to New York where he began working in finance before working at Café Boulud. Dissatisfied with the fine dining scene in America, he opened his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, and the rest is history.