Sol Han

The Climb

Fine-dining discipline shows up early in the line work behind Sol Han’s cooking. Years at Ai Fiori as Sous Chef and at Le Coucou as Executive Sous Chef gave the kitchen language its structure: timing, precision, and a clear read on finish. That training now sits inside a Korean-American fine-dining register shaped by a life that began in Korea and continued in New York. The same background also explains the way the food lands at Little Mad. Since 2021, Han has led the kitchen there in New York City, and the plates read as an extension of the earlier New York kitchens rather than a departure from them. Korean memory is translated through a polished dining-room framework, with each dish built to carry lift, layering, and control.

Today

At Little Mad, Han often starts with a Korean reference and pushes it into a more architectural form. The bungeo-ppang is the clearest example: a savory reworking of the fish-shaped pastry, served as an amuse-bouche with scallion-laden batter and seaweed butter. The reference is familiar, but the execution is tightened into something precise. The Japanese Yellowtail, Asian Pear, Sesame Dressing, Scallion Oil, Lemon, and Fleur de Sel dish takes that same logic and makes it vertical. Sashimi is set between translucent wafers of Asian Pear, giving the plate height and a sharper sense of structure. Han’s own line on it is direct: “I wanted to give it height.” Other dishes keep working that balance of richness, brightness, and texture. Wagyu Tartare pairs Korean-style egg salad, apple, pickled ramps, Osetra caviar, and toasted brioche. Chou Farci Mandoo brings together blue crystal prawn, foie gras, lobster sabayon, ginger, chives, and tarragon oil in a layered composition. Poached Lobster Tail, with tomalley fried rice, white kimchi salad, pine nuts, pickled cucumber, and lemon, stays vivid and tightly composed.

Signature

Sol's signature dishes include bungeo-ppang.

In Their Words “I wanted to give it height.”

Recognition

Recognition here comes through specificity. As Head Chef at Little Mad in New York City, Sol Han has built a body of work where Korean-American fine dining is expressed through named dishes and controlled compositions rather than broad claims. The cooking is exact, but it does not read as sealed off; there is room in it for familiarity, adjusted into a different register. The arc stays legible: born in Korea, raised in New York, formed in the exacting pace of Ai Fiori and Le Coucou, and now leading a kitchen where bungeo-ppang becomes a savory amuse-bouche and mandoo is rebuilt with prawn, foie gras, lobster sabayon, and herbs.