Chef Paul Carmichael has been lured back to New York to head a new iteration of Momofuku in the city’s East Village. The former head chef at Momofuku Seiōbo in Sydney Australia has been overseeing operations at Star Casino since Seiōbo closed in 2021.

Momofuku CEO Marguerite Zabar Mariscal told the New York Times that the Barbados-born chef is set to lead the culinary development across Momofuku restaurants in New York, LA and Las Vegas. Mariscal also told the New York
Times that it’s hoped the talented chef will mentor a new generation of chefs and shape the future of the company created by Korean-American restaurateur and chef David Chang.

Carmichael began working for the Momofuku group at Má Pêche (now closed) in New York in 2010. He landed in Sydney in 2015 to take on the role of executive chef at Momofuku Seiōbo where he quickly became known for Caribbean cooking of the highest order. Take his dish of smoky chicken wings with crisp jerk chicken skin, his riff on one of the favourite street foods from his island nation in the West Indies. Or his modern take on a bay leaf and fish broth tea, which he punched up with the addition of Sterling caviar and corn crackers.

One of Carmichael’s talents lies in the fact he cooks from the heart with dishes such as house-aged wild barramundi an homage to the salted fish from his childhood, which he had an emotional connection to.

The new restaurant, which is part of the Momofuku brand but does not yet have a name, will be housed in the former Momofuku Ko space, which closed its doors in 2023. Although Chang is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of Momofuku, it’s reported the shared vision for the new Momofuku in New York is for it to be an up-to-the-minute culinary destination built around Carmichael, a true talent in the kitchen.

Carmichael moved to New York in 1998 to attend the Culinary Institute of America before working with chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson, Wylie Dufresne and David Chang. Momofuku turns 20 this year and the New York Times article also reported that the company has faith Carmichael will be “integral to shaping the next 20 years at Momofuku”.

Sydney’s Momofuku Seiōbo was the first of nine restaurants in the Momofuku empire to close its doors and Chang told the New York Times he’s confident it will be “every bit as distinctive as Seiōbo”.

Related recipes: 6 Caribbean recipes by Momofuku Seiōbo chef Paul Carmichael