Last August, the New York Times called Marguerite Mariscal the “secret sauce” behind the growing Momofuku Group restaurant empire. She had recently been named CEO of the David Chang-founded multiconcept operation, after starting her career there as a public relations and events intern. Mariscal, whose family has run the Zabar’s specialty foods store in New York City for 85 years, now oversees all of Momofuku’s restaurants, products and special projects.
Mariscal has been lauded for her ability to juggle the company’s many products, and for her ability to translate Chang’s vision into action. “The things about Momofuku that I have a hard time articulating, I don’t have to explain to Marguerite, because Marguerite gets it,” Chang told the New York Times. “She gets it better than I do.”