Our story

Nick grew up in upstate New York in a larger than life, loud family that loved to eat. Both of his grandmothers were amazing cooks: one Italian, one Slovakian. This is where Nick’s love for food and cooking started, with them in the kitchen along with listening to all the old stories about family, spirits, and tradition. These ripe, amazing days showed Nick how to connect to people through food.

Growing up was wild for Nick, the middle child of three boys. In high school, Nick fell in love with the band Phish, dropped out of school, and started a four-year journey traveling to as many Phish shows as possible with his brother, Ben, until they were broke and had to go back home. This is where Nick started to dig into his cooking heritage, making food for friends and selling food for money. After over 120 concerts and an end to Phish’s tour, Nick and his brother both decided to go to culinary school at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island.

After graduating from culinary school with honors and a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts and food science, Nick worked and studied abroad in Wales and France, later working at some of the country’s top-rated restaurants, hotels and spas. Nick has competed on Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games, won a Food & Wine competition, helped friends launch other projects, such a wellness program and juice line for Kansas City company Sunlighten, and consulted on others culinary endeavors.

Nick moved to the Kansas City area after meeting wife, Andrea. They opened Noah’s Cupboard in Andrea’s hometown of Weston, Missouri in June 2018. Their small restaurant on the main street of Weston’s historical downtown features intimate dinners prepared in an open kitchen. The food is prepared under the Japanese style of Mottainai, making sure every ingredient is respected and there is no waste.