Suzanne Cupps

Cupps didn’t grow up in the kitchen. Raised in Maryland and South Carolina, she studied math in college and had no plans to pursue food. After moving to New York in the wake of 9/11, she began working at the Waldorf Astoria, where the fast-paced energy of restaurant service drew her in. She enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Education and soon landed an externship at Gramercy Tavern.

Her first full-time kitchen job was at Annisa, where she trained under acclaimed chef Anita Lo. Over six years, Cupps fell in love with the discipline and detail of cooking. “I think because of my math brain, I liked the precision of cooking,” she says. “I didn’t have the palate yet, but I just loved cutting something perfectly every day in a square, or cooking a piece of fish perfectly.”

She later returned to Gramercy Tavern, working under Michael Anthony, who deepened her appreciation for vegetables, sourcing, and storytelling through food. She rose to sous chef and joined Anthony again to open Untitled at the Whitney Museum, eventually taking over as executive chef.

After leading a fine-dining concept for Dig Inn and spending time as a private chef, she decided to create something truly her own. In 2024, she opened Lola’s—named for her paternal grandmother, who fled the Philippines during World War II. The restaurant serves à la carte New American cuisine with Filipino and Southern accents, grounded in seasonal produce and a subtle, personal narrative that reflects Cupps’s journey.