Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Matt Hummel
Chef
Matt Hummel is a Trumansburg native whose early food memories include canning homemade tomato sauces and jams made from produce from his parents' garden. At least twice a month his parents would take him and sisters for breakfast atThe Store at Treman’s Village, which is presently theHazelnut Kitchen.
Hummel originally had his sights set on the entertainment industry, majoring in Television and Radio at Ithaca College, using restaurant work as a means to pay the bills. He moved to Los Angeles after graduation, working odd jobs in Hollywood until he eventually found himself behind the stoves again.
Becoming enamored with scratch cooking and seasonal cuisine Matt cooked in kitchens in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston for Food and Wine Best New Chefs and James Beard award winners.
Twenty years and many kitchens later, Matt comes full circle and returns to Trumansburg with his wife and two children. As the new chef and owner of theHazelnut Kitchen, Chef Hummel is eager to work with local farms and purveyors and raise his family in the flourishing community of the Fingerlakes.
Breana Coon
General Manager / Beverage Director
Breana Coons, originally from Watkins Glen, is also an Ithaca College Alumni, where she majored in nutrition. It was at Hazelnut Kitchen where she saw a connection between sustainable farming and cooking and a healthy lifestyle.
She’s been an integral part of the restaurant since 2012. Her strong relationships with the guests and wineries in combination with her breadth of knowledge of Fingerlakes wines make her an indispensable asset to the future of Hazelnut Kitchen.
