Tim Cushman
Chef Tim Cushman
Chef Tim Cushman’s culinary career spans over 40 years and circles the globe. With his wife Nancy, Tim is Owner of the highly acclaimed, Boston-based Cushman Concepts restaurant group. The group includes a range of concepts from high end to fast casual, including: o ya, Hojoko Japanese Tavern, Bianca Woodfire Kitchen & Bar, Gogo Ya Crispy Nori Sushi Tacos & Bento Bowls, Ms. Clucks Deluxe Chicken & Dumplings and Mr. Roni Cups Roman-style Pizza.
Tim was awarded a James Beard Best Chef Northeast Award (2014) and James Beard Semi-Finalist for Outstanding Restaurant o ya (2019), Food & Wine Best New Chef (2008) and has achieved many industry accolades including o ya being named the #1 New Restaurant in the United States by the New York Times and a rare 4-star review and #1 Restaurant in Boston ranking by Boston Magazine.
One of Tim’s guiding mantras is “Forever a Student”; he is on an endless mission to discover new tastes, ingredients, techniques and flavor combinations. Tim’s artistic journey began after earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz and Classical Guitar from Berklee College of Music in 1980. Upon graduation, he left Boston with only his newly minted degree, no car and very little money to his name to pursue a musical career in Los Angeles. While playing music gigs wherever he could, he took a job working in a kitchen within walking distance of his apartment to support himself. He found a talent and passion that until then had been unrealized.
A quick study and eager to learn, Tim found himself thrust into the 1980s pioneering food movement in California, working with talented boundary-breaking chefs like Michael Roberts of Trumps (no relation) and Roy Yamaguchi of 385 North (now of Roy’s). Unique flavor combinations and innovative styles championed by these chefs inspired Tim’s own artistic creativity.
In 1987, Tim continued to gain invaluable experience by moving to Chicago and taking a position as Corporate Chef for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. For seven years he worked directly with mentor and restaurant legend, President and CEO Rich Melman, to create menus for new concepts and reinvent existing menus, including Maggiano’s, Shaw’s Crabhouse, Ed Debevic’s in the U.S. and Japan, Ambria, Café Baba Reeba and others. In 1988, Tim traveled to open a Lettuce Entertain You concept in Osaka, his first exposure to Japan. He staged at several restaurants in Japan where his deep appreciation and endless fascination for Japanese cuisine took root. In 1989, he returned to the U.S. to help create Hat Dance, a modern Mexican restaurant. There, Tim tapped into the bank of flavors and styles he’d been cataloging through his travels: the result was a hybrid sashimi bar blending the aesthetics and flavors of Japan with the flavors of Mexico, Peru and Korea. This became the prototype for what was to became o ya almost twenty years later. In 1994, Tim launched a restaurant consulting business, Ideas in Taste. As the consulting chef, he developed menus, trained chefs and wait staff, managed restaurant openings and provided guidance on conceptual and kitchen design at restaurants around the U.S., Europe, and Asia. His consulting work with various food boards also included recipe development and dish creation for major national ad campaigns.
Today, Tim spends his time mentoring the creative process at all of his restaurants, and still takes the time every day to learn new songs on electric guitar. He hopes to get a new band together soon.
