Ehren Ryan

Australian-born and raised, Chef Ehren Ryan honed his craft in restaurants across the globe and now presides over his own kitchen in Millburn, NJ at Common Lot, which he co-owns with his wife Nadine. Ryan says this is his favorite spoon "purely because it was our first purchase for our own restaurant. Nadine and I bought this spoon before we had even opened the restaurant. It set the style for the plates and glassware."

Global culinary influences are readily apparent in Ryan’s spoonful, with an emphasis on Southeast Asian flavors like lemongrass and ginger. "Modern American cuisine is a melting pot of different cultures and ingredients. We tend to use a lot of ingredients from Southeast Asia, as they are very prominent in Australia where I grew up." When he’s not in the kitchen cooking, he’s reading cookbooks, spending time with chef friends and traveling on food-based adventures. "Food is my life", Ryan says.