Hue Chan Karels
Hue-Chan Karel, Chef-Owner of Alkemē at Open Kitchen, has loved feeding people since her start as a pastry chef in her parents’ restaurant in Michigan. Later in life, her small artisan cookie business grew into Open Kitchen DC, a unique, multi-purpose kitchen and wine bistro. Over decade later, a move to Santa Fe led to new and creative ways for Open Kitchen to build a bridge to cultural understanding and bring the community together for the common good.
Whether catering private events, providing Cooked + Delivered© meals during COVID, teaching culinary skills, leading culinary adventures, or supporting community events such as Pride Week and the Cancer Foundation of New Mexico, she has holds strong to the belief that magic happens when we gather to share a meal
Now Chef Karels is excited to bring to the community, Alkemē, a Culture-to-Table restaurant that provides an innovative dining experience and pays homage to heritage cuisines by bringing to life ancestral recipes, stories, and memories of flavors.
Erica Tai
Executive Chef and General Manager
As a young chef originated from Taiwan, who’s lived in Hawaii and now New Mexico, Erica has been nourished by rich cultural landscapes and talented mentors. With a great passion in food and culinary arts, Erica has also achieved a Registered Dietitian License in 2020 and now pursuing a Master of Science in Nutrition at the University of New Mexico. Open Kitchen is proud to have this talented chef with expertise in nutrition and culinary arts to create delicious and healthy meals for our guests!
Join Our Team
Our culture is entrepreneurial, team-oriented, creative. Creating memorable, unparalleled hospitality and culinary experiences for our guests underpins all that we do. Our core ingredient is our people. We believe a team of passionate people who have the desire to do good by their craft leads to extraordinary results.