About me
Born and raised in Boston, Laurence Louie found his way to cooking through his Chinese-American upbringing. After completing his masters in Asian-American studies and working as a community organizer in Boston’s Chinatown, Laurence took an extended trip China where he studied Mandarin, joined the university basketball team and apprenticed at a hand-pulled noodle shop. Upon returning to the States, he decided to enter the kitchen professionally, landing a job at the at the James Beard Award-winning restaurant Oleana in Cambridge, Mass. He then moved to London staging at notable restaurants before becoming the Head Chef at Selin Kiazim’s flagship restaurant Oklava.
During the pandemic, he received a call from his mother about taking over her Cantonese bakery and decided to move back to the U.S. to figure out what to do with the space. In 2022, he opened his restaurant Rubato, a Hong Kong-style cafe blending his Chinese-American roots with refined technique. Since opening Rubato, Laurence earned a James Beard Nomination for Best Chef of the Northeast, was awarded StarChefs Boston Rising Star Chef and the restaurant was named on Bon Appetit’s 2023 Best New Restaurants. Laurence is currently competing on Season 23 of Top Chef. Outside of the kitchen, Laurence enjoys spending time with his wife and son.
