Nathan Hobart
Morcilla | Pittsburgh, PA
July 2025
Nathan Hobart knew he wanted to be a chef since he was five years old. Raised in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, he grew up cooking with his family’s garden vegetables and wild game, fostering an early curiosity for agriculture and foodways. By his teens, he had already leaned into kitchen life, attending a tech program and working at a local pizzeria before moving to Pittsburgh in 2010 to attend culinary school.
A fateful interview with Chef Justin Severino landed Hobart a line cook position at Elements, a massive downtown restaurant doing 400 covers a night. After a pivotal externship at Eleven, he joined Severino again to open Cure, where he quickly worked his way up from line cook to co-sous chef, eventually helping run the kitchen. The tight-knit, four-person team focused on nailing precision, collaboration, and full ownership of every dish—a rhythm that Hobart grew into.
In 2015, he became chef de cuisine and partner at Morcilla, where he helped write the first menus and slowly assumed creative control. Over nearly a decade, he’s guided the restaurant through growth, good press, and pandemic pivots, all while keeping its ethos grounded in collaboration and local sourcing. Now, Hobart is focused on keeping Morcilla steady, seasonal, and deeply connected to its team and community.
