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When people think of Black Seed Bagels, they most often think of the owners — Noah Bernamoff (Mile End) and Matt Kliegman (the Smile). But the person that should come to mind is head baker and woman-in-charge Dianna Daoheung.

Those coveted Montreal meets New York-style bagels that are now considered among the city’s best? That’s her recipe “from the ground up.” She’s the one there everyday: rolling, boiling and baking the bagels. The wood fired oven is (basically) her best friend.

Daoheung, 32, is first-generation Thai, and so cooking came early. “You’re 5 years old and female, you should start cooking” is basically how it went, she said. And so while she expected a tough go in the industry, with those in it underpaid and overworked, she knew it was for her. Especially on that one day almost two years ago. It was Chef Wiley Dufresne’s (Alder, wd-50 RIP) birthday, and the Mile End commissary kitchen in Red Hook was preparing a birthday party.

“I was cooking beef hearts on an outdoor grill and Anthony Bourdain pulls up. I thought, ‘Holy shit I could do this for my life!'”
Credit: GEORGIA KRAL at www.amny.com