With the beginning of the new school year, there are exciting new changes on campus, particularly the new members who are joining Concord Academy. Matt Molly is one of these newest individuals and serves as CA’s new Executive Chef.
Molly was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Molly’s passion for cooking originates from his family as his grandmother was a cook. As a kid, he often made dinner for his younger siblings when his parents were busy. However, he did not intend to make it his career. He attended the University of Missouri as an undergraduate student. He initially studied business while working in restaurants. Shortly after, he realized his passion and enjoyment for cooking and spending time in the kitchen, thus proceeding to change his major to Hotel Restaurant Management. He attended culinary school after graduation and began to work at a fine dining restaurant.
After the completion of culinary school, he intended to move to a larger city, and Boston was the city he and his family chose to settle in. When they first moved to Boston 25 years ago, they were not expecting to stay for so long. Yet now, Molly and his three daughters, two of whom are seniors at Concord-Carlisle High School, live in the town of Concord. Molly said, “[I am] really happy that I stay [in Concord]. [I] love the area, love the people, [and] Concord is a beautiful town.” During his time in the greater-Boston area, Molly has worked at different restaurants in various locations, such as Beacon Hill, Newton, and Lexington. During his time at these restaurants, he specialized in French and New American cuisines, but he explores global cuisines and baking in his free time. He also served as the culinary director at Concord Market, where he was in charge of food operations.
However, during the pandemic, things took a turn for Molly as he stepped away from restaurants and became a recipe developer and later also attempted teaching. Despite his various experiences, Molly never worked in a school kitchen. Molly claims CA’s dining system allows him room for creativity, and he hopes that, by joining CA, he can offer new perspectives and make overall improvements to CA dining in terms of food and culinary techniques. One thing that Molly emphasizes is his willingness to take feedback from the community and serve what is wanted by the community.
Molly’s decision to serve as the Executive Chef at CA stems from various reasons. He expresses his sense of belonging in the town of Concord and how CA plays an important role in contributing to that sense of community. This, and the proximity to home, resulted in his decision to work at CA. Moreover, he says the crew has been extremely welcoming to him. Along with that, he had a surprise reunion with his high school classmate, the Latin teacher, Benny Abraham. They attended Chaminade College Preparatory School for six years together and were once in the same Latin class. Neither Molly nor Abraham was aware of this surprise encounter before Molly joined the CA community.
As Molly steps into his role as the Executive Chef, the CA community is excited to see the changes he brings to the school. With his openness to feedback, determination to improve, and care for the community, it is certain that he will lead the Stu-fac team to a higher level.