Meet the Team

Noah, a life long foodie who dreamt of being a chef since the age of 2 created Forge To Table while a Freshman at Johnson & Wales seeking a custom chef knife and quickly finding a need among his peers. When he's not talking with customers, cooking, or packing orders, you can find him cheering his team on at a soccer game.

A lifelong foodie and creative, Maya recently graduated from Johnson and Wales University, earning a degree in Culinary Science and Product development. Her recipes/dishes are heavily inspired by Pacific Northwest ingredients and her Japanese ethnicity.

Donald, has used his talents as a videographer and photographer to create sharp content, ads, and work on our Test Kitchen series. You can find his portfolio here; https://www.donaldkomondy.com/

Without Edith, FTT would not exist. From inception Edith helped create the structures of FTT and facilitated its growth while Noah was running it out of his college dorm.

Jiang Jiang was one of the first hires by Alex when he took over the forge from his Father. He’s got an infectious laugh and an expert eye at the grind and settings of perfectly crafted handles.

You'll be familiar with Waleed's creative vision if you've seen the stunning TikTok and Reels creations. When he isn't cooking beautiful thing, he's working at his day job as a Microchip & Computer Engineer

​

Sam is a lifelong culinary artist and entrepreneur who is dedicated to good food and sharing stories. He works to create new delicious recipes featuring our knives with a team of collaborators for the Test Kitchen which you can check out here. He also represents Forge To Table at pop-up markets, culinary competitions, live demos, fundraising events, and more.

Carole and Noah first met in 2017 while Noah was seeking a custom chef knife. It is through their first connecting that Forge To Table came to be. She handles the logistics, sourcing, and contributes to designs. Not to mention keeping everything flowing smoothly between California and China.

He Shu has been crafting knives for over 3 decades. His experience began on a much larger scale but since working for the Zheng's, he’s been focused on the slower paced individual nature of crafting.

Feng is one of the most senior of the team having worked for Alex’s father at the forge and throughout Alex’s time as the chief blacksmith.

Chloe is based in Southern California with her design business and consults on FTT’s artistic projects like our new sticks and knife graphics!

​

Alex came up in a family making knives but always had a desire to craft the higher end. He pursued this goal and got his bachelors in industrial design and followed his schooling with years spent in Seki, Japan apprenticing and forming the connections foundational to our partnership with Takefu steel. Not to mention his incredible skills in the forge and fine eye for design.

Brigitte joined the team in 2019 creating our first team Chef Coats. Since 2022 working at Forge To Table HQ in Southern California she's been working on creative projects as well as bookkeeping and helping keep orders flowing.

Yuan Mei is one of our newer team members, starting in 2019, she’s worked across the forge and offices helping the team and becoming skilled herself at finish the blades and checking quality.

Chen has also been on the team since Alex took over, with 25 years working in the knife making business. He frequently contributes to ideation and new projects.

Anthony, a fellow Johnson & Wales Alumn has created the unique packaging seen on Forge To Table’s accessory lines. From our Shears to Knife Blocks, his creative vision brought these to life. He also works as a teacher.

​