Location: Brooklyn, NY
Restaurant: Mofon•GO NY
Position: Founder
Cuisine focus: Puerto Rican
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Manolo Lopez moved to New York to study design at NYU. While working in product development and design, he frequently hosted private dinner parties showcasing Latin cuisine from the island and beyond. He yearned to pursue this passion fulltime, and in 2014, quit his job to found Mofon∙GO NY. He viewed it as a direct response to the lack of authentic Puerto Rican cuisine in today’s food startup scene. Merging his eye for design, training in business and upbringing in food, Mofon∙GO has been a labor of love from day one.
1. What’s your regular comfort meal?
Fricase de Conejo (Rabbit Fricassee).
2. Tell us about one Kitchen Disaster story.
20 pan speed rack filled with sauces all lost due to a screw in one of the wheels. 6 hours of preparation dead.
3. Do you have any kitchen battle scars?
Burns and cuts.
4. If your last day was tomorrow, what would be your last meal?
Miso Ramen soup from Minca.
5. What is and who makes your favorite knife?
Shun and Korin.
6. Finish this sentence: If I wasn’t a Chef, I would be a…
Truth is I’m more of an entrepreneur, but if I wasn’t that, I’d be a chef.
7. After a long work day, what do you do to decompress?
Beer, beer & more beer.
8. What do you wish you had more time to do?
Visit Puerto Rico and my family and friends.
9. Besides cooking, do you have any other talents?
Product design, design, sneaker collector, brand consultant.
10. What is your culinary “best case” scenario?
To launch more pop-ups of Mofon•GO in different parts of the world.
Manolo Lopez is participating in Puerto Rico Meets NYC, currently taking place in New York City. Learn more about the event by clicking on the image below.
