Board Member, Founding Chef
Implementation Engineer at PAR Technology
After spending his youth moving up and down the East Coast, Justin studied at the University of Florida where he double-majored in global business management and economics. While academics brought him to Florida, it was the side jobs he held that would be his calling.
“During my time in college, I worked at several different restaurants in order to make rent. During that period, I became very taken with food, and decided to cook for a living.”
After college, Large made the decision to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America, and the rest, as they say, is history. Following graduation, Large accepted an internship at Paul Kahan’s Blackbird, which evolved into a full-time position.
He worked side-by-side with Kahan creating the dishes that came out of each of One Off Hospitality Group’s restaurants; Avec, Blackbird, Publican, Dove’s Luncheonette, PQM Butcher Shop, Big Star Bucktown, Violet Hour, and NICO Osteria. Moving from Intern to Line Cook to Sous Chef to Chef de Cuisine to One Off’s
Director of Culinary Operations, Large spent his time going from restaurant to restaurant fine-tuning their back of the house operations. These operations have won multiple James Beard Awards, and regularly grace the pages of Food & Wine, Bon Appétit and Travel + Leisure. Add to his accolades multiple appearances on Food Network’s Iron Chef and PBS’ No Reservations and his position as a founding member and board member of Pilot Light.
In 2018, Large accepted the role of Vice President of Culinary Operations for Left Coast Food + Juice located in Chicago, IL.
Large is an avid bike enthusiast and enjoys spending time with his wife Molly and their two children.