Chris Morgan

Michelin-starred and James Beard semifinalist Chef Chris Morgan was formerly the co-executive chef and co-owner of award-winning restaurants Maydan and Compass Rose, both based in Washington, DC. James Beard Semifinalist, Maydan, was awarded a Michelin star and has received critical acclaim from local, regional, and national press outlets, including being named No. 2 Best New Restaurant in America” by Bon Appetit, “Top 10 Best New Restaurant” by Food & Wine, a “Best New Restaurant in America” by G.Q Magazine, one of Eater’s “18 Best New Restaurants in America”, the 2018 “Best Restaurant Design” winner by Eater DC, and more. Maydan’s sister restaurant, RAMMY award-winner Compass Rose, has been named on every best restaurant list in D.C. and has received national recognition from esteemed news outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, etc.

Chef Chris first fell in love with food from the Middle East and Iran as a kid growing up in Northern Virginia, where there was a large community of people from that region. While his culinary career has taken him across America, he always knew he wanted to return to the DC and is thrilled to be a part of such a dynamic, vibrant community of chefs and restaurateurs.

He began his cooking career in San Francisco, where he worked at Zuni cafe under the late Judy Rogers. Next, he helped open Company with his mentor, Karen Hoffman, starting as a lead line cook and worked his way up to sous chef. From there, he went to work for Chef Melissa Perfit at Hard Water, part of the Slanted Door Restaurant Group. His next stop was DC, becoming the executive sous chef alongside Chef Ed Witt at The Partisan and then joining The Dabney as sous chef, where he worked under the tutelage of award-winning chef, Jeremiah Langhorne. He then worked under Chef Nathan Anda as a chef for the Red Apron Group, helping him manage all of his properties and work on food research and menu development before becoming Co-Executive Chef at Compass Rose and Maydan in June 2017. Morgan is also the co-owner and co-executive chef at Yasmine, Little Chicken, and Joon (named one of the Best Restaurants in America by The New York Times and one of Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best restaurants).