KC O'Hara

For the past twenty-one years, KC O’Hara has honed his culinary skills and led the operations behind the line and behind the scenes at some of Boston’s most famous kitchens. No stranger to the fast pace of a popular restaurant kitchen and the demanding lifestyle of the food industry; KC’s culinary foundation was built in the kitchens of the Millennium Bostonian Hotel. While studying at Johnson & Wales University he progressed from an internship to Executive Sous Chef at the highly acclaimed Seasons Restaurant. He then took the reigns of the live wood fire at the East Coast Grill, owned by noted chef, restaurateur, author, and James Beard Award winner Chris Schlesinger. While working for Chris, KC traveled to San Francisco and Napa to spend time cooking in several award-winning restaurants, cooked at the James Beard House in New York City, and developed recipes for several of Schlesinger’s highly successful cookbooks.

In 1993 KC jumped at the opportunity to become Executive Sous Chef at Sonsie, a Boston landmark and premier dining destination.  In this position he developed the menu from the ground up and was integral in setting the standards that have continued to draw praise for the last 15 years.  While at Sonsie, KC returned to the Beard House with Executive Chef Billy Poirier. He moved on to become the Executive Chef at the Harvard Faculty Club, a full-service fine dining and private function facility. The private club setting afforded KC the opportunity to once again travel when in 2000 he was the private chef for Sony Worldwide at the Masters in Augusta, GA. KC has also completed brief turns in some of France’s finest kitchens, learning from Chefs Alan Ducasse, Paul Bocuse, and the decorated staff at Troigros.

The next step was as Director of Culinary Operations for the Lyons Group, the parent company to Sonsie and several other successful restaurants and bars in the city. In this role, KC oversaw all back of the house operations for six of the group’s concepts.

KC partnered with Ed Doyle in 2004 to develop the highly successful Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton, MA.  Five years later he remains the Culinary Director for Gibbet Hill and works closely with the owners on business development and strategic planning