David Chang is the American chef, restaurateur and media entrepreneur behind Momofuku, the restaurant group that has operated in New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Sydney and Las Vegas since 2004. Born David Chang on 5 August 1977 in Vienna, Virginia, to Korean immigrant parents, Chang opened Momofuku Noodle Bar at 171 First Avenue in Manhattan’s East Village on 27 August 2004. Momofuku Ko followed in 2008 (earning two Michelin stars until its 2024 closure), and the Momofuku group has since expanded into restaurants, podcasts, television, retail products and a media company.
In 2025 Chang opened Kabawa in the former Momofuku Ko space on East First Street, a Caribbean-inspired restaurant led by chef Paul Carmichael. The Momofuku Goods retail line (chili crunch, soy sauces, instant noodles) continues to expand through grocery and direct-to-consumer channels. Chang’s Majordomo Media produces the Dave Chang Show podcast, Ugly Delicious (Netflix, 2018-present), The Next Thing You Eat (Hulu, 2021) and other programming. His candid memoir Eat a Peach (2020) documented his depression and his complicated relationship with the Momofuku kitchens in unusual detail.
TL;DR
- American chef born 5 August 1977 in Vienna, Virginia, to Korean immigrant parents
- Opened Momofuku Noodle Bar, East Village, on 27 August 2004
- Momofuku Ko (2008-2024) held two Michelin stars for most of its run
- 2025: Opens Kabawa in the former Momofuku Ko space with chef Paul Carmichael
- Majordomo Media produces Ugly Delicious, The Next Thing You Eat and the Dave Chang Show podcast
David Chang key facts
| Born | 5 August 1977, Vienna, Virginia, USA (Korean-American heritage) |
| Nationality | American |
| Flagship restaurant | Momofuku Noodle Bar, 171 First Avenue, East Village, Manhattan (opened 27 August 2004) |
| Group | Momofuku: 10+ restaurants across NYC, LA, Toronto, Sydney, Las Vegas over the past 20 years |
| Training | French Culinary Institute, New York; Craft (Tom Colicchio); Cafe Boulud (Daniel Boulud) |
| Media | Majordomo Media; Dave Chang Show podcast; Ugly Delicious (Netflix 2018-); The Next Thing You Eat (Hulu 2021) |
| Memoir | Eat a Peach (2020) |
Early life and training of David Chang
Chang was born on 5 August 1977 in Vienna, Virginia, the youngest of four children of Korean immigrant parents. His father Joe Chang had come to the United States in 1963 after the Korean War and eventually owned a series of small businesses in the Washington metropolitan area. Chang has written and spoken openly about the difficulties of his childhood, including his father’s financial struggles and a family culture that placed intense pressure on academic achievement. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School and then Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, graduating in 1999 with a degree in religious studies.
After Trinity, Chang taught English in Japan for a year, an experience that has since been cited repeatedly as the formative period for his approach to noodles, broth and East Asian foodways. Returning to the United States in 2000, he took a series of finance jobs before enrolling at the French Culinary Institute in SoHo, Manhattan. He worked at Craft under Tom Colicchio and at Cafe Boulud under Daniel Boulud, where he was a garde manger cook. Neither position lasted more than a year.
In August 2004 Chang opened Momofuku Noodle Bar at 171 First Avenue in the East Village with borrowed capital from his father. The restaurant served a short ramen-focused menu at counter seating with a deliberately minimal aesthetic. Critics noticed within 12 months: the New York Times review in 2005 praised the pork buns and the Korean-inflected ramen broth. By 2006 the restaurant was the defining counter-format noodle bar in Manhattan, and by 2007 Chang was opening follow-on venues at 207 Second Avenue (Ssam Bar) and 163 First Avenue (Momofuku Ko, 2008).
David Chang career timeline
- 5 August 1977: Born in Vienna, Virginia, to Korean immigrant parents
- 1999: Graduates from Trinity College, Hartford, with a degree in religious studies
- 2000: Teaches English in Japan for one year
- 2002-2003: Enrolls at French Culinary Institute, New York; works at Craft and Cafe Boulud
- 27 August 2004: Opens Momofuku Noodle Bar at 171 First Avenue, East Village
- 2006: Opens Momofuku Ssam Bar at 207 Second Avenue
- 2008: Opens Momofuku Ko at 163 First Avenue (tasting menu format)
- 2009: Momofuku Ko earns two Michelin stars (held continuously for most of the restaurant’s run)
- 2009: Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar launches with Christina Tosi
- 2012: Opens Momofuku Toronto and launches Lucky Peach magazine with Peter Meehan and Chris Ying
- 2014: Opens Momofuku Las Vegas at The Cosmopolitan
- 2015: Opens Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney (later closes)
- 2017: Lucky Peach ceases print publication; Majordomo opens in Los Angeles
- 2018: Ugly Delicious premieres on Netflix
- 2020: Eat a Peach memoir published (Penguin Random House)
- 2020: Launches Dave Chang Show podcast on The Ringer network
- 2021: The Next Thing You Eat airs on Hulu
- 2023: Wins 50k USD on Celebrity Jeopardy! (donated to charity)
- 2024: Momofuku Ko closes after 16-year run
- 2025: Kabawa opens in the former Momofuku Ko space with chef Paul Carmichael
- 2025-2026: Momofuku Goods retail line (chili crunch, soy sauces, instant noodles) continues to expand
David Chang signature style: Korean-American and cross-cultural cooking
Chang’s central argument is that Asian-American cooking, specifically the second-generation Korean-American register, is a legitimate fine-dining and casual-dining category in its own right, not a fusion. Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004 brought Korean, Japanese and other East Asian references into a counter-format Manhattan restaurant in a way that no Manhattan restaurant had before. Momofuku Ssam Bar (2006) extended the argument into a larger-format dinner-only restaurant. The approach has shaped a generation of Asian-American chefs and is cited constantly as the founding moment of contemporary Korean-American fine dining.
The second defining element is public voice through Majordomo Media. Chang is one of the few working chefs who has built a serious media company around his voice. The Dave Chang Show podcast has been a major food-industry podcast since 2020, Ugly Delicious on Netflix (2018) broke format by centring the chef-traveller as cultural critic, and Eat a Peach (2020) broke industry convention by discussing Chang’s depression and his complicated relationship with his own kitchens in unusual candour. The media portfolio sits alongside the restaurants rather than below them.
The third pillar is retail. Momofuku Goods, founded in 2020, has moved from a direct-to-consumer launch into major US grocery distribution with chili crunch, soy sauces, seasoning salts and instant noodles. The retail model is among the most successful chef-brand retail launches of the past decade and parallels the approach of Alice Waters at Chez Panisse with cookbook-led publishing, though in a very different register.
Notable dishes at Momofuku
Several Momofuku dishes have become reference points in American Korean-American cooking. The pork buns (steamed buns with hoisin-glazed pork belly, cucumber and scallion) from Momofuku Noodle Bar are the single most-cited signature dish and have been widely copied by Asian-American restaurants across the US. The Momofuku ramen, the bo ssam (salt-and-sugar-cured pork shoulder served with rice, lettuce and condiments), the rotisserie duck at Ssam Bar, and the Bing bread with caviar at Ko are other long-running signatures. Momofuku cookbooks include Momofuku (2009, co-authored with Peter Meehan) and Momofuku Milk Bar (2011, Christina Tosi). Chang’s memoir Eat a Peach (2020) is the single most important written text about his career.
David Chang awards and recognition
- 2007: James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year
- 2009: Momofuku Ko earns two Michelin stars
- 2013: James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef
- 2014: The James Beard Outstanding Restaurateur (for Momofuku)
- 2015: Time 100 Most Influential People list
- 2017: Opens Majordomo in Los Angeles to major critical acclaim
- 2018: Ugly Delicious premieres on Netflix; multiple Daytime Emmy nominations
- 2020: Eat a Peach memoir becomes New York Times bestseller
- 2023: Wins 50,000 USD on Celebrity Jeopardy! (donated to Southern Smoke Foundation)
- 2024: Momofuku Ko closes after 16 years
- 2025: Kabawa opens in former Momofuku Ko space
David Chang impact on American food culture
Chang’s most concrete contribution is Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004 and the Korean-American cooking argument that followed. The 2004-2010 period at Momofuku, Ssam Bar and Ko reshaped how Asian-American cooking was presented in Manhattan and influenced a generation of younger chefs across the United States. The argument that second-generation Korean-American cooking was a legitimate fine-dining category in its own right was new in 2004 and is the foundation from which much of the current Asian-American fine-dining scene developed.
The second contribution is the Majordomo Media model. Chang is among the first working chefs to have built a serious media company, spanning podcast, television and print. Ugly Delicious on Netflix (2018-present), the Dave Chang Show podcast (2020-present), and the Lucky Peach magazine (2012-2017) together form one of the most extensive chef-led media operations of the past decade. The model has been followed, in different registers, by René Redzepi and others.
The third contribution is candid public writing about mental health in professional kitchens. Eat a Peach (2020) discussed Chang’s depression, suicidal ideation, and his sometimes difficult relationship with his own kitchens with a candour that was unusual in chef memoirs. The book shifted public conversation about working conditions in professional kitchens and opened space for younger chefs to discuss mental health in public. Roy Choi, who has written similarly about Korean-American identity and his relationship with cooking, is one of the chefs whose public writing sits in adjacent territory.
David Chang FAQ
Did Momofuku Ko close?
Yes. Momofuku Ko closed in 2024 after a 16-year run. The restaurant held two Michelin stars for most of its run. In 2025 the former Ko space on East First Street reopened as Kabawa, a Caribbean-inspired restaurant led by chef Paul Carmichael within the Momofuku group.
Is Momofuku Noodle Bar still open?
Yes. Momofuku Noodle Bar continues to operate in the East Village, Manhattan, and is the original flagship of the Momofuku group, open since 27 August 2004. The group also operates restaurants in Los Angeles (Majordomo), Toronto, Las Vegas and other cities.
What is Majordomo Media?
Chang’s media company, which produces the Dave Chang Show podcast (2020-present on The Ringer), Ugly Delicious on Netflix (2018-present), The Next Thing You Eat on Hulu (2021) and other chef-led programming. The company is one of the most extensive chef-led media operations of the past decade.
What is Momofuku Goods?
A retail line of chili crunch, soy sauces, seasoning salts and instant noodles launched in 2020 that has moved into major US grocery distribution. The products bring Momofuku restaurant flavours into home kitchens and are among the most successful chef-brand retail launches of the past decade.
Did David Chang write a memoir?
Yes. Eat a Peach, published in 2020 by Penguin Random House, documents his career from the 2004 Momofuku Noodle Bar opening through the Momofuku expansion and his depression. The book became a New York Times bestseller and is one of the most candid modern chef memoirs.
What is next for David Chang
Chang continues to lead the Momofuku group alongside the 2025 Kabawa opening and the expanding Momofuku Goods retail business. The Dave Chang Show podcast and Majordomo Media programming continue to produce new episodes. His public Instagram (@davidchang) is the best source for current updates.
