Katianna Weiner Hong ’02: Albany Academy’s own top chef

Katianna Hong was the first female chef de cuisine at an American three-star Michelin restaurant. She has been nominated for a James Beard Award; named a Food & Wine best new chef. The Asian-inspired Yangban she opened with her husband, John, was recognized as a Bon Appétit best new restaurant, and a New York Times top-50 most exciting American restaurant.

Also, Hong recently competed in the 22nd season of “Top Chef,” dominating several rounds with her take on Korean cold noodles. 
It turns out, Albany Academy had it right.  

“They’re the ones who encouraged me to go to culinary school,” she recalled by phone from her Los Angeles home. “But I didn’t want to be different, so I went to college. I dropped out after a semester. Then, I went to CIA (Culinary Institute of America) and loved it!” 

At 42, she has been a celebrity chef since back before chefs were treated like rock stars.

 Hong distinguished herself early on with dishes others wouldn’t have thought of, fusing European and Asian traditions, with a dash of her grandmother’s Jewish cooking. Awards and best-of listings credit her with pushing culinary boundaries – equal parts Korean market and classic French kitchen.   

The accolades and turn on TV’s most prestigious cooking show are tremendous affirmation and good for business. But, they aren’t what drive her. It is the work of creating food and dining experiences. 

 “I actually think it’s helpful that I started when it wasn’t a cool thing to do,” Hong said. “From the start, it was discipline, working hard, putting the time in, being humble, and never considering yourself an expert. Growing and learning are something I take seriously.” 

Korean born, she was adopted as an infant by Kathleen and Neil Weiner of Clifton Park. Her community was not especially rich in culinary variety. Nonetheless, Hong gravitated to cooking; making dinner for family and friends, while listening to the then-new Food Network. She also used the kitchen to explore her ethnic heritage. 

Her older brother, Reid Scott, meanwhile, was busy with drama club and regional theater – paving the way for roles in “VEEP,” “Mrs. Maisel,” “Law & Order” and other top TV shows that have made him a familiar face.  

“We both had a creative side,” she understated. 

At school, though, Hong felt restless and pressured to fit in as one of the few Asians. Encouraged by her parents, she enrolled at Albany Academy for Girls as a sophomore.

It didn’t take long to feel at home in the smaller, more diverse, and inclusive setting. Classmates were motivated, which motivated her, particularly in math and science, which she struggled with. School uniforms eliminated a source of angst.  

“I felt accepted for the first time, not like I had to try to be extra American,” said Hong, who counts Academy classmates among her closest friends. 

Her Academy teachers and advisors also knew her well enough to recommend her next step: culinary school. But cooking wasn’t what her friends did. So, she started at Manhattan College, lasted a semester, and then went to CIA. There, the future top chef was a top student, excelling in all her classes, even culinary math. 

Her career, like her brother’s, brought her to California. She made history by becoming chef de cuisine at The Restaurant at Meadowood, the only American woman in this role at a three-star Michelin restaurant. 

In 2022 she and her husband, chef John Hong, opened Yangban. It made best-new-restaurant lists of Bon Appétit, Esquire and Condé Nast Traveler and became a James Beard semifinalist. By then, they had a daughter Alessia, now 6.  

Last year, she left home to appear on Top Chef, which was shot in Toronto. It was difficult to be away and compete on a high-pressure kitchen with cameras trained on her. But Hong fully appreciated the chance to gain skills and the perspective of peers after years of work. By the time she was eliminated in episode six, she helped win a Quickfire challenge and an elimination challenge. (She also made it to Last-Chance Kitchen, winning a 30-minute pickle face-off, among others.) 

“In hindsight I had needed a catalyst for change,” she said of the experience.  

So, instead of diving back in at Yangban, the Hongs are slowing down to reassess. The restaurant remains closed in the meantime. 

These days, her schedule is less packed and frenetic, as Hong consults on other restaurant concepts, while reimagining her own. 

Given her television fame and media stories that follow her every professional move, Hong acknowledges her stature as a celebrity chef. 

“Sometimes,” she said, asked if people recognize her. “But no one cares. I’m in L.A. I might be having lunch next to Jennifer Aniston.”