Like many of us, chef Cédric Vongerichten found himself balancing the pressures of work life and family life during the past year.
He is the chef and owner of Wayan, an Indonesian restaurant in New York City’s Nolita neighborhood and his first solo venture, which he opened in February 2019. Vongerichten is also an executive chef and partner in three other restaurants with his father, chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (New York City’s Perry Street and Jakarta’s Le Burger and Vong Kitchen). He’s also a dad.
“I am sure no one was expecting to live through a pandemic,” Vongerichten says. “We did not know what to expect; there were some very difficult moments, many lives passed away, a lot of fear, and businesses losses. As a family, we stuck together, and it was important to make it through while keeping a sane and positive state of mind.”