Meet Zack Wangeman

We were lucky to catch up with Zack Wangeman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zack , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

We are a community, rooted in our staff and the corn farmers who sustain us. It’s this sense of community that gives me resilience.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I started my career when I was 17 in pastry. As soon as I left Oaxaca, I had the goal to learn from the best to one day move back to Oaxaca and be able to offer my community something new. I worked in pastry for 10 years, in some very cool places like Celler de Can Roca and Per Se.

Eventually, I began to miss the food from Oaxaca and started cooking it while I was living in NYC. Finding it difficult to cook for just one person, I would make large batches of mole and share them with my friends. Eventually, I started selling it, which slowly evolved into a restaurant. I still wanted to support my community in Oaxaca. We do that at Sobre Masa by doing our best to represent the products of Mexico and their producers. For too long, Mexican cuisine has been undervalued in the USA. We work with some very amazing products, especially corn, and try to have fun with them and share their stories. Hoping that one day they will receive the respect they deserve.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Stay out of politics. Their is a lot of noise in a restaurant. Its easy to get distracted when you are first starting out. Tune it all out and focus in what really matters. the food

listing a skill we are always practicing. listing to whats happening in your community, your kitchen and your city help keep you open to new ideas.

Its ok to be out of your comfort zone. Thats how you know your growing.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

Kitchen Confidential. This book gave me the confidence to ask for my first job in a professional kitchen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sobremasa.com
• Instagram: @sobremasanyc