OUR TEAM

Allen has been a proud Hoboken resident for over a decade. Formerly a full-time poker player, he spent 10 years traveling the world which is where he gained an interest in different cultures and food.  Allen and his wife Allison began taking cooking classes for fun which led to the idea of a culinary space right in Hudson County. He founded Hudson Table in 2014 with hopes to build a business that educates people on all things food while serving as an alternative form of recreation in a thriving community of young professionals and growing families.

Allie has been a Hoboken resident for 10 years. Always having a passion for cooking and food, she and Allen took numerous cooking classes before urging him with the idea to open Hudson Table. Together, they have opened 3 locations in the last few years with her guidance on design while helping make all things HT aesthetically pleasing. She manages all social media accounts for Hoboken, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia locations.

Lauren was born and raised in Cranford NJ and has been a Hoboken resident for the last 3 years. She has always had a love for all things food, after being in the accounting industry, she left that behind to go to culinary school at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. Never being able to decide between sweet and savory, you can find her making our desserts on the weekends or prepping an entree for a catered event. Lauren wears many hats at Hudson Table such as staff manager, kitchen assistant, pastry chef, and event coordinator. Her favorite part of Hudson Table is the culture and great group of people she works with.

Chef Sara Kartzmer Fry, a Hoboken resident, is a health supportive chef (with a sweet tooth!) Sara knew from an early age that she wanted to be a chef and has never looked back. She graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute and shares her passion for wholesome cooking with children and adults, as a personal chef, chef instructor, and educator. Sara has a special interest in farm-to-table food preparation, and spent six months at Katchkie Farms in upstate New York, showing children the joys of cooking with seasonal ingredients. She is currently employed as a chef instructor for Wellness in the Schools, a non-profit organization serving NYC Public schools. To learn more about Sara’s personal cheffing business, visit saraswholesomekitchen.com

Koray`s Turkish Mediterranean background gives him a unique opportunity to understand and appreciate the elements of land and the sea. A lifetime of traveling beginning at a young age with his family helped him to understand the world`s immense variety of cultures and landscapes and how they are connected with their own cuisines. He sees food as love, nutrition, creativity, pleasure and a celebration of a new season. He loves connecting people with one another by bringing them to dine and share their experiences. He opened his first Modern Mediterranean restaurant at the age of 29 in Turkey. He holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration and a culinary arts diploma from the French Culinary Institute, NYC.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Chef Guillermo found his passion for cooking when he was 18 years old; his first culinary experience was in Jaso Restaurant in the hip neighbourhood of Polanco. Upon graduating in 2010 with a degree in Culinary Arts, he decided to move to New Jersey and work in some of the most prestigious restaurants in New York City including Cafe Altro Paradiso, Morimoto and Simon and the Whale. At Hudson Table, Chef Guillermo brings his vast culinary experience to share with his guests at hands-on classes, as well as his very own interpretation of Contemporary Mexican Cuisine to his Chef Tables and private events.

Natalie’s love of cooking began at a very young age. Born in New Jersey and raised in a traditional Colombian family where a home-cooked meal was at the center of every gathering, Natalie’s passion for the culinary arts only grew.  After college, she moved to Colorado to pursue her culinary degree, working with private chefs for pop ups, gaining culinary and front of house knowledge at a large-scale catering company, and as a line cook at a farm-to-table bistro in the Denver Botanic Gardens. Eventually returning to NJ due to the pandemic, she stumbled upon Hudson Table and started as a part-time host/kitchen assistant. Here she discovered a group of like-minded individuals who, like her, believed that cooking builds memories that will be cherished and remembered. Natalie also found a love for teaching others the art and science behind dishes from different regions in our Hands-On classes. Now a Chef/Chef Instructor, you can find Natalie in any of our spaces at Hudson Table, happily creating dishes for an event or teaching a class. You might even catch her attending as a guest as she enjoys supporting her friends’ creative menus!

Melissa Ghelani is a classically trained chef with over 10 years of teaching experience. Her hands on classes are always a good time, and she’s always up for a battle in a chef competition. When she’s not teaching at Hudson Table, Melissa works with NYC non profits and other culinary consulting. Melissa, her husband Niket and lil dog Penny call Bayonne home