Chef Carl Murray

Carl Murray

NOBU

My inspirations of becoming a chef began in early childhood as I would watch cooking shows on KERA and I remember being captivated by the likes of Jaques Pepin, Julia Childs and Charlie Trotter.  After graduating from the University of North Texas in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, I decided to pursue that childhood dream to become a chef.  In 1999, I enrolled in the Texas Chef’s Association apprenticeship program at El Centro College.  My first exposure to a professional kitchen began with a three year externship at the prestigious Dallas Country Club under the direction of Master Chef, Ernst Grugh.  After establishing a solid foundation of cooking principles, I wanted to pass on that knowledge and accepted a position at the Dallas Central Market cooking school in 2002.  In 2003, I moved on to work for nationally acclaimed chef, Kent Rathbun at Jaspers in Plano.  As chef de partie, it was at this time that I truly began to understand the importance of “mise en place”, everything in its place.

My next major step was switching cuisines completely and began working for Nobu in 2005 as chef de partie.  Having the privilege to work under Nobu Matsuhisa was a great honor as everyday became an intense study of Japanese cuisine and culture. However, still feeling an itch to travel and cook, I left Nobu in 2007 to accept a senior chef de partie position at Coco Reef resort on the island of Bermuda. It was at this time that I truly felt an international connection with food. I began to embrace and appreciate the many different influences of food, not only from the local Bermudian fare but also from the international culinary staff that I was honored to work with.

In 2008, I came back to Dallas and reclaimed by position at Nobu to work under the direction of Executive Chef, Matt Raso. It was at this time that I felt the desire to not only improve upon my cooking and knowledge of Japanese cuisine but to also lead a kitchen brigade and accepted the position of sous chef. In December, after five challenging years of managing a kitchen team, and still feeling the desire to lead and excel, I accepted the Executive Chef role at Nobu Dallas. 

http://www.noburestaurants.com/