Oded Weizmann

Owner/Chef

Chef Owner, Oded Weizmann, started his culinary path while working at a sales job in Manhattan. Once he had come to the determination that he would be a thoroughly mediocre sales person, he began to immerse himself in the hospitality business with one thought in mind, to open his own restaurant. He attended Johnson & Wales University and over the next 20 years taught himself culinary techniques and built his recipe book while learning the business side of the restaurant business; managing, bartending, serving and general managing several restaurants along the way. Along the way he built relationships that helped teach him about real-estate, construction, lease negotiations which are all essential to opening and surviving in the restaurant business.  In February of 2018 Oded, and his life partner Rachel, opened Carving Room Kitchen & Bar in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.

Building upon its success they opened CR NoMa May of 2019. Oded takes inspiration from everywhere, but the main catalyst to his love of food and flavor preference was growing up in a Moroccan-Israeli house where nearly every meal was home cooked. Oded likes to say this is where he unknowingly learned about fusion cuisine. His Moroccan born mother, who later moved to Israel and then to the States, would take all the traditional dishes she had been taught to cook as a girl and, wanting to learn “American” food, would always end up making the most basic dish she had taught herself with the flavors and ingredients she grew up with. Oded tries to take this same approach when it comes to food - find the technique and apply the flavors you love.

What Oded loves about the restaurant business? “Every day it engages all 6 senses; taste, touch, sight, smell, sound and ESP.” He’s still working on honing the 6th.

How he likes to learn about food? “taking a trip and immersing myself in the flavor or dishes of a region or culture for three or four days.”

What does Oded like to do when he’s not at the restaurant? “If I’m not traveling with Rachel, dinner and drinks with friends. In my mind, there’s no better way to spend 2 or 3 hours.”