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    Chef/owner

    Harold Moore

    Chef/owner, Cafe Commerce

    Discipline
    Chef/owner
    Portrait of Harold Moore

    Portrait of Harold Moore

    i. Biography

    The plates carry the scale of Sunday table cooking, but the pacing, finish, and balance reflect a chef working with control rather than nostalgia.

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    Coming Up

    Training at the Culinary Institute of America set the foundation before Harold Moore moved into a long New York run defined by disciplined execution and classic technique. His name was tied to high standards at Montrachet in New York City (from 2000), then at March in New York City, and later at Commerce in Manhattan's West Village (from 2008), where the work leaned on precision, consistency, and a steady command of the line.

    Those roles kept widening the scope without changing the center of the work. Harold Moore later became chef and owner at Harold's Meat + Three in New York City (from 2016), co-owner at Bistro Pierre Lapin (from 2018), and Chief Culinary Officer at Charlie Palmer Collective. Today, as Executive Chef of Cafe Commerce (since 2024), the through line is still the same: classic food handled with experience, control, and a clear point of view.

    Where They Are Now

    Harold Moore’s cooking aims for immediate recognition, but the execution is exact, with each element placed to land cleanly. Pommes Aligot is one signature: a classic French dish of cheesy whipped potatoes that produces the ultimate cheese pull. It carries the sort of service-side drama that comes from texture done right, with the plate relying on heat, stretch, and restraint in equal measure. Celebrate America Cake is another named work, taking the same careful approach into dessert with a title that is direct and memorable.

    Signature

    Harold's signature dishes include Pommes Aligot and Celebrate America Cake. Read together, they point to a kitchen comfortable with familiar food, but not interested in leaving it untouched; the work is about refinement, calibration, and getting the details to hold.

    In Their Words “We're trying to make the most excellent French grandmother's restaurant.” The line is plainspoken and useful. It describes a kitchen where classic French reference points matter, but the objective is execution, not costume; warmth is part of the brief, and so is excellence. And he later brought that same restaurant concept back as Cafe Commerce in 2025. he later brought that same restaurant concept back as Cafe Commerce in 2025.

    ii

    FAQ

    Asked of Harold

    • Where did Harold Moore train or study?

      Harold Moore trained at Culinary Institute of America. What is Harold Moore known for? elevated comfort food.

    The Sunday email

    Read about chefs like Harold Moore in the Sunday email.

    Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.

    See a sample of the Sunday email

    Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.