UB Preserv

California native Nick Wong started cooking in sixth grade and was interested in pursuing a career in cooking almost immediately. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, frequently changing majors and always coming back to food. He graduated in 2007 with a degree in nutritional sciencethe degree closest to cooking that was available.... He attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City before joining Momofuku, cooking at both Momofuku Ko and Momofuku Ssam Bar. After two years as a line cook at Momofuku Ssam Bar, he spent a year at Gramercy Tavern before returning home to California to work with Chris Cosentino at Incanto. Nick returned to Momofuku Ssam Bar in 2013 as sous chef and was promoted to chef de cuisine a year later. He moved to Houston in 2018 to open UB Preserv as chef de cuisine. UB Preserv was named the best new restaurant in Texas by Texas Monthly in 2019, and Nick was named a Rising Star Chef by StarChefs the same year. Nick was promoted to executive chef of UB Preserv in 2021. Tara MacMullen has more than a decade of experience in New York City hospitality. Most recently, she was the general manager at Sister City New York City. Before that, she spent seven years at Momofuku, where she was Director of Service and oversaw service for all of their U.S. restaurants. Tara was a part of the opening team for multiple Momofuku restaurants throughout the country, including New York City, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC. Prior to joining Momofuku in 2010, she worked for Peter Hoffman at both Back Forty and Savoy. Tara joined UB Preserv as general manager in 2021. Leila Frink, who comes from a military family and had the opportunity to live in a lot of different places growing up, calls Texas home. Leila credits her love of cooking to her abuela, who she used to watch in the kitchen at a young age. Leilas cooking style is a blend of Asian and Hispanic fusion, stemming from her Chinese and Puerto Rican background. Leilas experience includes both front of house and back of house ...Read More