Katianna Hong
Hometown: Clifton Park, NY
Current city of residence: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation/profession: Chef/Owner of Yangban
Born in Korea and raised in upstate New York, Katianna Hong studied at the Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park and the UNLV School of Hospitality. After graduating, she secured a job at the two-star Michelin restaurant Melisse in Santa Monica, Calif., where she met her culinary partner and future husband, John. Moving to Napa Valley in 2011, Katianna worked as a line cook at chef Christopher Kostow’s The Restaurant at Meadowood, and in 2014 was not only the restaurant’s first chef de cuisine but also the only woman in the nation holding that title in a three-starred Michelin kitchen.Read More
Hometown: Clifton Park, NY
Current city of residence: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation/profession: Chef/Owner of Yangban
Born in Korea and raised in upstate New York, Katianna Hong studied at the Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park and the UNLV School of Hospitality. After graduating, she secured a job at the two-star Michelin restaurant Melisse in Santa Monica, Calif., where she met her culinary partner and future husband, John. Moving to Napa Valley in 2011, Katianna worked as a line cook at chef Christopher Kostow’s The Restaurant at Meadowood, and in 2014 was not only the restaurant’s first chef de cuisine but also the only woman in the nation holding that title in a three-starred Michelin kitchen. San Francisco magazine also named her Rising Star Chef for pushing the boundaries of fine dining with her creativity and nuanced approach. In 2018, Katianna later opened Kostow’s second Napa restaurant, the Charter Oak, where she and her team earned a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant, a spot on Bon Appétit’s Top 50 Best New Restaurants List and she was honored as one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs. Following the birth of their daughter, Alessia, Katianna and John relocated to Southern California in 2019 to pursue their dream of opening their first solo restaurant project together. In 2019, Katianna and John opened their first solo restaurant together, Yangban, offering a multi-dimensional, autobiographical experience that showcases their respective backgrounds and upbringings while providing a dynamic neighborhood space for locals to gather. Since its opening, the restaurant has garnered critical acclaim appearing on the 2022 best new restaurant lists of Bon Appetit, Esquire, and Condé Nast Traveler and was a 2023 James Beard semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant.