Michael P
- Research Program Mentor
Industry expert at Yale University
Expertise
Culinary Arts, Business Strategy & Management Consulting, Biology, Creative Fiction and Non-Fiction writing
Bio
I am currently a sous chef at Momofuku Ko, a two-Michelin star restaurant in New York City. At the restaurant, I help develop new concepts for events and drive seasonal menu changes for both our bar and tasting menus. In 2022, I was a North American finalist in the San Pellegrino Young Chef Competition and won the "Aqua Panna Connections in Gastronomy" award for my dish which aimed to chart my family's migration from North Korea to the Southern port city of Busan during the Korean War. I am interested in both the craft of regional cooking as well as the family histories and cultural anthropologies that drive these culinary traditions. I also have extensive business training in the food and beverage space given I was a management consultant at Bain and Company for three years following graduation. I also ran a series of entirely student operated pop-up restaurant concepts at Yale under the umbrella of "Y Pop-Up". The intersection of food as story, craft, and commerce is my area of interest and expertise.Project ideas
Cooking to Find the American Dream: Food as a Mode of Historical Dialogue
Delve into your family's history through a series of interviews with near and extended relatives. These conversations will inform dishes that will capture the salient milestones and historical moments that define your family's journey to the present day. The project will culminate in a tasting menu for your family that will not only demonstrate the mentee's culinary growth but also galvanize conversation surrounding the interviews and family histories that resulted in the meal.
Chemical X: Creating the Next Great American Snack Food
Conceive, develop, and go-to-market with a scalable consumer packaged good product. The project will involve culinary ideation and R&D as well as detailed work-planning and execution on product iteration and design. Project will result in a product launch and potential to extend into sales tracking and growth strategy.