Matt Abergel is the Co-Owner and Executive Chef of Yardbird Hong Kong and RONIN. He is also the Co-Founder of Sunday’s Spirits, Sunday’s Grocery, and ROTI TORI- a fast-casual chicken rotisserie brand. At the beginning of his career, Matt worked in Japanese kitchens throughout Canada before moving to New York City to work under Masayoshi Takayama at Masa. When Matt moved to Hong Kong in 2009, the food culture of the city inspired him to open his own restaurant and in 2011, he opened Yardbird Hong Kong with his business partner Lindsay Jang. Yardbird Hong Kong is a modern izakaya that specializes in chicken yakitori. Matt and Lindsay opened their second restaurant, RONIN, in 2013 – a dining bar focused on fresh fish and Japanese spirits. In 2018, Matt’s first book, “Chicken and Charcoal,” was published by Phaidon. Much more than a cookbook, “Chicken and Charcoal” has its own unique style and strong visual references by artist Evan Hecox, revealing the magic behind Yardbird Hong Kong’s food and drinks as well as the story of where the restaurant started, how it grew, and where it is today. In 2019, “Chicken and Charcoal” won a James Beard Foundation Award for best book in the Restaurant and Professional category. In 2021, ten years after opening, Yardbird Hong Kong received its first Michelin Star