Nathan Gould
Chef de Cuisine | O Ya | Boston
September 2020
Growing up in New Jersey, Nathan Gould helped around the kitchen as his mother and grandmother cooked traditional French meals. By age 11, he was replicating their recipes best he could. In 2004, Gould enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, with a concentration in culinary nutrition and a stage with Barbara Lynch Gruppo. Through college, he cooked for Nassau Street Catering, the Scheide Fund, and Joss & Jules Boutique Catering back home in Princeton, eventually becoming executive chef of the latter two by 2012, as well as culinary manager for Princeton University’s dining services. During this time Gould earned his degree from J&W (class of ’07) and in 2009 went back to school at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to pursue a masters in sports nutrition and exercise science. He continued to cook on the side, working in a year’s stint as sous chef at Cruz Bay Prime, part of The Westin resort on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.
In 2013, Gould moved to another island, Martha’s Vineyard, to become executive sous chef of the Harbor View Hotel. In less than a year, he was promoted to executive chef, bringing “island-to-table” cuisine to the sprawling property. In 2015, Gould spent one season at the Island’s historic Beach Plum Inn before relocating to Tim and Nancy Cushman’s O Ya in Boston. As chef de cuisine, Gould carries on the legacy of globally-inspired omakase. In winter 2020, he plans to open a wood-fire concept highlighting the bounty of Coastal New England.
