Chef Matthias Merges of Yusho - Biography

Matthias Merges got into the industry early on, getting his first restaurant job at 14, and eventually graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. After graduation, Merges headed for Chicago, where he honed his skills at restaurants like Carlos’, LaTour at the Park Hyatt, Gabriel’s, and The 95th. After a hugely successful stint opening Metropolitan in Salt Lake City (with wife and the restaurant’s architect Rachel Crowl), Merges headed back east to Charlie Trotter’s. Although he left the restaurant after two years, Merges returned in 1996 to run the kitchen, coordinate on cookbooks and television shows, and generally assume the “Director of Operations” mantle. In 2010, after over 14 years of service, Merges left Charlie Trotter’s to pursue his own dream: honoring American cuisine in all its diversity at a restaurant of his own at Yusho.