Very few people know exactly what they want to do from a young age. Jake Potashnick is one of them.
“I’ve wanted to own and run a restaurant since I was seven,” Potashnick says. “I’ve designed my life around that goal.”
He is the chef and owner of Feld, a tasting-menu restaurant defined by extreme seasonality and an ever-changing menu dictated by what is available at the farmers’ market each week. In under two years of operation, Feld was awarded a MICHELIN Star, a recognition of both its ambition and precision.
Before opening Feld, Potashnick built his career in Europe through a series of full-time roles he is careful to distinguish as the foundation of his professional training. He worked at Daniel Berlin Krog in Sweden, followed by La Marine in France, before moving to Berlin, where he spent several years at Ernst. He later served as head chef at Barra, also in Berlin. While Potashnick also completed internships and stages in Japan, Thailand, and the United States, he identifies these four kitchens as the core of his résumé.
In the lead-up to Feld’s opening, Potashnick also built a following online through his TikTok account, @notyetachef, where he posts under the name Jake Talks Food. His candid videos about the realities of opening a restaurant attracted nearly 103,000 followers and brought early attention to the project. That visibility proved to be both an asset and a challenge, amplifying interest while also shaping expectations before the restaurant had fully found its footing.
That mix of visibility and experience informs Feld’s philosophy, which prioritizes direct relationships with farmers, fishermen, and producers over fixed menus or long-term sourcing contracts. The restaurant’s tasting menu evolves week by week, reflecting both the realities of the market and a willingness to treat change as a constant rather than an obstacle.
Potashnick opened Feld after returning from Berlin, where he left a full-time role to focus on building the restaurant from the ground up. Since opening, he has remained closely involved in every aspect of the operation, from sourcing and menu development to service and guest experience.
Today, Feld stands as a reflection of Potashnick’s long-held ambition: a restaurant built on conviction, adaptability, and a belief that seasonality, when taken seriously, can be both rigorous and expressive.
