[ about ]

It started with spikeball.

[ 01 — the story ]

From pickup games to plated courses.

Brian and Herbert met freshman year playing spikeball and discovered a shared obsession with food. They chased it separately — Brian in the kitchens of M Tempura and M Test Kitchen in Durham; Herbert through culinary school and a stage at Tuome, a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York.

Through mutual friends they connected with Allison, fresh from French pastry school at École Ducasse and her stage at A LaCroix Patisserie. Together they built [ stage ] from scratch out of a small apartment in Swift — complementing each other’s strengths and growing together alongside a dynamic team of chefs who are hungry to learn.

stage /stahzh/

(n., from stagiaire)

A stage is a culinary apprenticeship — a cook volunteering in another chef’s kitchen to learn new methods and styles. Every one of our founders did one. It’s where the name comes from, and it’s how we treat every dinner: a chance to keep learning.

[ 02 — the mission ]

“We strive to create one-of-a-kind fine dining experiences that are accessible, community-oriented, and culturally inspired.”

Our mission is to foster a vibrant community experience through the shared exploration of food, leveraging the power of communion. We aim to share our diverse backgrounds through our original menus, broadening the horizons of fine dining to help tell new stories. By doing so, we challenge ourselves to master classical techniques while cooking innovatively to create unforgettable meals for our guests.