todd macdonald
Todd Macdonald began cultivating his love of cooking when he was fifteen years old. He was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to parents who were passionate foodies. From a very early age he was exposed to distinctive flavors and unique dishes. It was this education and appreciation of food that led Todd to attend the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont.
Todd received his first position as Sous Chef at LuLu Bistro in San Francisco, California, at the age of 21. From there he moved to Boston to work as a Sous Chef under Ken Oringer at Clio and was under his tutelage when Ken Orlinger was awarded the Best Chef Northeast Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2001. In 2002, Todd moved to New York City and began working at Bouley. It was during his employment at Bouley that Todd met Shea Gallante. In 2004, Shea Gallante was brought in as the Executive Chef of Cru and offered Todd a position as his Sous Chef. Todd worked with Shea Gallante and Cru for nearly four years before accepting the position of Executive Sous Chef at Olivier Cheng, a small boutique catering company located in Tribeca. Todd has now proudly returned to Cru as Executive Chef and Partner.
Todd’s culinary vision for the direction of the food at Cru is to make it mutually accessible and wine-friendly. Todd is a cultivated oenophile and appreciates the symbiotic relationship between his dishes and the wines that compliment them. "I want to let the basic nature of quality ingredients and flavors showcase themselves without too much complexity. I find the most celebrated food and wine pairings are born from region, seasonality and simplicity. I hope to embrace this ideology at Cru."