Chef Spotlight: Chef Jonghun Won of Pavé in Midtown

Pavé is a European-style cafe/bakery in Midtown from Chef Jonghun Won and Jin Ahn. The goal of Pavé is to rekindle the art of baking bread fresh throughout the day through timeless artisanal simplicity. Chef Won and his team meticulously prepare fresh bread by the petit baguette or full loaf for purchase, as well as sandwiches reminiscent of those found at small shops in Paris. Chef Won believes the most beautiful sandwich begins with freshly baked bread filled with simple, sustainable, and organic ingredients. He and Jin have enlisted Executive Chef Peter Hong to create their menu, which will include sandwiches and signature pastry line that are baked in-house daily. Pavé offers specialty coffee drinks from Counter Culture Coffee. Other beverages include high-quality loose-leaf teas and non-alcoholic beverages.

Chef Won hails from South Korea, with a background in theology. He has honed his skills in numerous fine establishments such as Jungsik Seoul as the original Executive Pastry Chef, ultimately leading to uprooting his family to New York to open Jungsik New York, which won 2-Michelin star honor during his tenure. A graduate of CIA (The Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park), Chef Won concurrently works as the sole proprietor of La Tabatiere, located in Closter, NJ. It is hailed as one of the best bakeries in Northern New Jersey.

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Chef Jonghun Won for our "Chef Spotlight" feature.

What was your earliest interest in cooking?

I always loved going to different bakeries as a child. As a result, I naturally wanted to learn how to make bread, and although I studied music in college, I enrolled in baking & pastry institute.

Who were some of your career mentors?

My personal mentor is Chef Dieter Schorner, who is an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America.

He never lost his smile and always sought to teach his students and answer every single question. When he retired from the Institute, he bestowed his old tools and books to me.

What culinary styles have influenced your career?

When you combine classic pastry with traditional Korean ingredient, a new flavor is created. Green Tea & White Chocolate Scone and Burdock Chocolate Pound Cake are good examples of combining classic pastry with Korean roots and herbs.

What do you consider the most distinguishing features of your work as a chef?

Simple is the best. Rather than using many different ingredients and methods to create, I always seek to utilize simple ingredients to create simple flavor combination is well executed. It can be showcased in the croissants that I make - rather than trying to create flavored/lacquered/multi-colored version of this ever popular viennoiserie, I am inspired by simple croissant made by following the right process using simple, high quality ingredients. Although our croissant at New Jersey location is very popular and delicious, we continue to modify and upgrade our methods in making croissants.

What are your favorite meals?

I love braised beef short rib (Korean-style marinated in soy sauce), but also love any Italian food that utilizes fresh ingredients.

Tell me a little bit about your restaurant for our readers.

Our bakery/café Pavé aims to be a small oasis in the middle of bustling Midtown New York. We have an ample space to catch up with friends over a cup of coffee and pastries, or a place to grab a sandwich made with freshly baked bread. We love the simplicity of a well-executed bread that is baked fresh. We wish more people can find joy in biting into a fresh loaf of bread that seems to be a dying art.

Pavé is located at 20 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036. Visit: https://www.pave46.com/ and call (646) 454-1387.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Chef Jonghun Won and Pavé