Chef Tim Cushman
Monday, Nov 6, 2017

Tim Cushman is James Beard Award Winning Chef/Co-Owner of Cushman Concepts, the restaurant group behind acclaimed restaurants o ya (Boston + New York), Hojoko Japanese Tavern (Boston), Covina and Roof at Park South (New York). After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz and Classical Guitar from Berklee College of Music in 1980, Tim moved to Manhattan Beach to pursue a musical career in Los Angeles before discovering his passion for cooking and becoming a part of the pioneering California food movement, working under talented chefs like Robert Bell, Michael Roberts of Trumps and Roy Yamaguchi of 385 North. After a seven-year stint in LA, Tim moved to Chicago to take a position as Corporate Chef for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, working directly with mentor and restaurant legend Rich Melman to create menus for Maggiano’s, Shaw’s Crabhouse, Ed Debevic’s in the U.S. and Japan, Ambria, Café Baba Reeba, among others.

In 1988, Tim took his first trip to Japan to open a Lettuce Entertain You concept in Osaka, at which time he staged at several restaurants and fell in love with Japanese cuisine. When he returned to the U.S. a year later, he helped to open Hat Dance, a modern Mexican restaurant where he created a hybrid sashimi bar that blended the aesthetics and flavors of Japan with the flavors of Mexico, Peru and Korea—ultimate inspiring o ya, his first independent restaurant in Boston, which offers guests an innovative approach to sushi grounded in Japanese culture and influenced by flavors from around the world.

He believes in the correlation between food and music and continues to develop dishes with great harmonies.

Nancy Cushman is Co-Owner of Cushman Concepts, the restaurant group behind acclaimed restaurants o ya (Boston + New York), Hojoko Japanese Tavern (Boston), Covina and Roof at Park South (New York). A certified Advanced Sake Professional, Nancy has a passion for sake and also oversees front of house and beverage operations for Cushman Concepts. She studied with John Gaunter, the world’s leading non-Japanese sake expert, to earn professional certification, and she and Tim take regular trips to Japan to continue their education

Prior to launching Cushman Concepts, Nancy spent more than a decade working at top advertising agencies including Leo Burnett, Arnold Worldwide and Hill Holliday, working with Fortune 500 companies and major food brands such as Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Ocean Spray, Dunkin’ Donuts and Procter & Gamble.

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6:30 PM cocktail reception, 7:00 PM dinner. sold out

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