Known for her vegetable-forward cooking, nuanced flavors and impeccable sourcing of seasonal ingredients, Chef Suzanne Cupps has led the kitchens at some of New York City’s most celebrated restaurants. Yet, among her industry peers, Cupps’ mentorship and collaborative leadership style is perhaps even more respected than her cooking.

Her interest in education began at Clemson University, where Cupps initially planned to pursue a career in teaching. Graduating with a BA in Math, she then moved to New York City and landed a position in HR at the Waldorf Astoria—fortuitously pitching in when the hotel’s steak house was short-handed. Her unexpected interest in the kitchen soon led to a certificate program at the Institute of Culinary Education, where her precise, methodical approach helped land her an internship at Gramercy Tavern.

Over the next decade, Cupps trained under two of the city’s most respected chefs: Anita Lo and Michael Anthony. At Annisa, she honed her knife skills and palate alongside countless other Asian-American chefs, absorbing an encyclopedic education in global flavors and cooking techniques. After six years with Chef Lo, she then returned to Gramercy Tavern as Sous Chef, immersing herself in Chef Anthony’s famously ingredient-driven cooking. Three years later, Anthony, himself, would nominate Cupps to help open Untitled at The Whitney as Chef de Cuisine.

Two years later, in 2017, Cupps became the first female Executive Chef in Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group—overseeing both Untitled and the Studio Cafe at The Whitney. Within these “blank canvas” restaurants crafted of glass, concrete and steel, Cupps became known for her artful technique and presentation, as well as her refined approach to layering both familiar and unexpected flavors.

In 2019, Cupps left USHG to open the ingredient-driven 232 Bleecker (Dig Inn’s first full-service concept). Just a few months later, this new restaurant was forced to close due to the pandemic, with Cupps leading several initiatives to reopen and pivot the restaurant’s focus in the years that followed. Lola’s is Chef Cupps’ first independent venture—the culmination of 15 years in New York City’s finest kitchens.