New Yorker has a good profile of the Momofuku empire’s sire, chef David Chang. Unfortunately, you’ll have to buy the magazine, as the article’s only abstracted on the website. I’d been a bit skeptical about Chang’s rise as the press has been fanboy fawning all over him as much as anyone since Barack Obama. This article changed my perceptions quite a bit. Chang comes off as a thoughftul hard-working visionary. He’s very aware of his meteoric rise, and questions the legitimacy of it quite a bit, even to the extent of driving himself so hard that he jeopardizes his health in an attempt to justify the accolades. It reminds me a bit of Kurt Cobain, who was apparently very concerned that his fame wasn’t justifiable and that everyday he had to do something to meet those expectations. We know how that ended. I don’t sense Chang will go that route, but here’s hoping he keeps his stuff together and brings more tasty pork laden noodle treats to the masses.