Here is the fantastic article from BestChefs Magazine in Germany. It was an honor to be featured in a great publication along side europe's rising culinary stars.
Forging a Path to Success
Noah Hawkins Rosen seemed destined for a culinary career since he announced to his parents that he was going to be a chef…at age two. As a child, he followed his culinary aspirations at the Culinary Conservatory at the Orange County School of Arts (OCSA) in California. Rosen was even encouraged to play with knives as a child and his collection grew with every birthday and holiday gift, which led him to realize that having the right tools is critical for a chef.
Rosen soon became a model amongst his peers at OCSA, where he started a small but successful catering company at 14 and at 17 opened the first fully high-school-student-run restaurant in the United States: CLASS Kitchen. After later completing an internship at the AAA Five Diamond Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, California, Rosen received the coveted James Beard Foundation scholarship and moved to Providence, Rhode Island to attend Johnson & Wales University, a nationally renowned culinary school. While at the Housewares Show in Chicago, Rosen met Carole, a third-generation member of a small family forge in southern China which produces premium handmade Japanese steel knives, only possible with decades of training. As the conversation continued, Noah decided it was time to do what nobody had dared to: arm culinary students and professionals alike with superior quality knives at prices unseen in the handmade knife world. Like the forge in which he was falling in love, the concept was hot!
After extensive research and design work, Rosen and the forge developed a line of knives which he appropriately named Forge to Table. The Forge to Table knives are visually unique and attractive, displaying a rustic and edgy blacksmith texture and an ergonomic, octagonal comfort-grip made of rosewood, which conforms to the shape of a chefs hand over time. Functionally, the blades and configuration offer objectively superior quality compared to leading knife brands across the globe, providing ideal flexibility and hardness of the blade. These knives compromise neither edge resilience nor sharpening resistance, allowing the edge to reliably glide swiftly through and easily release food while chopping, cutting, or slicing. Each knife is also paired with a fitted leather saya protective knife cover and delivered in a toasted, hand signed, pine box.
Still a university student, Rosen unleashed his vision and put his first knives on the market in 2018, quickly selling over 250 knives in several months. Today, Forge to Table knives are in the hands of Chefs across the US, Canada and more than 25 other countries. They have also made their way to his father’s hometown of Lüneburger Heide in Lower Saxony, Germany and have even passed through the doors of the German Blade Museum in Solingen.
In May 2019, Rosen graduated summa cum laude with an Associates of Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship from Johnson & Wales. Forge to Table is currently cutting through its second year in business and witnessing tremendous success, including an expansion into the European market in collaboration with the Germany-based BestChefs Magazine, which recognizes and awards youth culinary stars and experienced culinary talent throughout Europe. The Forge to Table product line now includes the 8” Gyuto, 6” Petty (utility knife), 10” Sujihiki (slicing/filleting knife), 7” Bunka, 7” Boning, 7” Nakiri (vegetable knife), 10” Serrated/Bread knives, and currently developing several more products. Rosen’s passion and vision is a labor of love dedicated to arming every kitchen with a high-quality knife. Every cook deserves a workhorse. Every Chef needs the best tools. Forge to Table Knives are all around the perfect fit in every hand and in every kitchen.
