Chef Matthew Karson

At an extremely early age, I became fascinated with food, watching chefs on public television cooking in their loud and sterile commercial kitchens, sharing secrets and treasures acquired through tens of thousands of hours of professional development with me, a wide-eyed 7-year-old fat kid scribbling down and creating (bad) recipes on his own, inspired by the gastronomic giants who came before me. Thirty years and several one and two Michelin-starred establishments later and I still feel the same way, that food is truly unique in its ability to captivate and catalyze the senses, but it yet still performs an even greater feat. To me, apart from the pleasure of eating and intoxicating the senses, the real miracle of cooking is the simple act of people coming together to enjoy a moment and space in time where all other things seem to melt away and memories are made over good food, fine drink, and boisterous laughter. Hospitality is the great equalizer, bringing families closer, friends together, and even strangers to the same table.