Chef Fred Sabo of Metropolitan Museum of Art - Biography

Fred Sabo holds a not-so-common position in the chef world: executive chef of the Member’s Dining Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—an American restaurant emphasizing seafood and local ingredients housed in one of the most important cultural spaces in the United States.

A graduate of Johnson and Wales, and a Long Island native, Sabo began cooking in New Orleans, moving to New York for a (mostly) uninterrupted 25-year career in some of the city’s premiere restaurants. He began training under Chef Christian Delouvier at the Parker Meridian’s Maurice Restaurant. About the same time, he fell in love with Japanese cuisine, leading Sabo to a two-year sabbatical in Osaka, Japan, where he worked and staged in local restaurants, absorbing as much food culture as possible. 

Recruited back to New York to cook at Tropica Bar and Seafood House, Sabo brought with him a deep respect for the craftsmanship of Japanese cuisine and began incorporating it into his own style. In 1996, he was lured to the kitchen of Lespinasse at the St. Regis, to work with iconic Chef Gray Kunz. It was an experience that also had a deep impact on Sabo. After two years, he returned to Restaurant Associates to lead several kitchens in their corporate dining division, during which time he became involved with special events, catering, corporate cafes, and executive fine dining, garnering logistical expertise to combine with his passion. It’s an intensity he brings daily to the Member’s Dining Room.