Rising Stars: Meet Chris Park of The Strand House

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Park.

Hi Chris, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have had a love for cooking from a very young age, cooking with my grandmother since the moment I was able to form sentences. She would place me on the counter and train my palette to know good seasoning and the importance of putting love into everything you create.

An alumni of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY, I have cut his teeth in many facets of the industry. This includes luxury hotels such as the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton, working in fast-paced large restaurant concepts with star chefs like Masaharu Morimoto, to opening six restaurants in one year as corporate chef in NYC and the Hamptons.

The culinary language of the kitchens and menus I do read balance of flavors, following seasonality as best as possible, and embracing local produce. The guest experience at The Strand House is the highest priority for my team! In conjunction with the General Manager and their team, I hope to bring the warmth and care that started my culinary journey to your table.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It took a few months of observations and understanding the flow, but once the team and I hatched a plan to revamp the culture they took to it very positively. One could say the situation was adversarial at one point, but we got almost everyone onboard and we have a great team now who is creative and fun to be around every day/night!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
These days it feels like I’m known for taking on challenges and just making it successful. I’m able to identify what my customers like to eat through feedback and broad tasting on new dishes and concepts to satisfy a wide set of people. I’m proud of the team we’ve build here. However, what truly sets me apart is the balance I’m able to find in operating business. My team is strong which allows me to create when necessary or the inspiration comes. I have the bandwidth to track costs and budgets detailed line to line for profit and loss purposes. A great many talented chefs have trouble doing both the creation and business side in parallel on a high level. Nowadays it just seems like the way it should’ve always been.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
That things that time and to trust the process. I love leading the culinary team at The Strand House and am proud of what we are doing. I hope those reading this will come visit us soon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thestrandhousemb.com
• Instagram: @strandhousemb and @chefchrispark

Image Credits
Patrick Record and Stacey David