The Chef & Owner
Chef Rachel Miller
Rachel first fell in love with cooking while spending time in her French-Moroccan-Jewish grandmother’s kitchen and garden as a child. In her teenage years, she began working in kitchens along the coast of Virginia, as well as Louisiana and Mississippi, where her love of the ocean, large food-focused family gatherings, and the region’s terroir inspired her to pursue a career in cooking. Growing up between the first neighborhood outside of the largest Naval Base in the world and the bayous of the Deep South, she was exposed to a wide array of foods and food cultures from a young age, instilling many food memories that live on through dishes on her menus today.
Once Rachel was of legal age to work, she jumped into all kinds of kitchen jobs in different types of restaurants to learn as much as possible. By 18 years old she’d already been working multiple jobs, 70-80 hour weeks for years, and was hungry for more, which inspired a sudden move to Boston.
The breadth of unique working experiences she gained over almost two decades, from learning in diners to fine dining restaurants all over the South and Northeast, along with her extensive studies in Vietnamese food culture and love of the ocean morphed over time to create the concept of Nightshade Noodle Bar, a French and Vietnamese inspired seafood restaurant in Lynn, MA, which opened in October of 2019.
Both Chef Rachel Miller and Nightshade Noodle Bar have gained much praise, including the second-ever 5-star review in the Boston Globe, high rankings in the area’s best restaurant lists year after year, and scrolls of 5-star guest reviews. Rachel was also a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef Award in 2023 and a Semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast in 2024 and 2025. Rachel can be found every night on the line in the NNB kitchen, personally cooking for her guests along with her talented team.
Maître d'
Christopher Sheehan
Christopher is a passionate creative with deep roots in New York City’s food and beverage community, having honed his craft in award‑winning rooms such as Ayesha Nurdjajaj’s Shuka and Mario Batali’s Lupa Osteria Romana. Residents of Somerville have experienced his distinctive hospitality at Field and Vine, while Cambridge wine lovers queued for his sommelier‑level service at Mass Ave’s natural wine and pescatarian venue Dear Annie. For the past two years he has collaborated closely with Chef Rachel to redefine how the North Shore experiences fine dining, blending meticulous service, thoughtful curation, and warm hospitality. He is thrilled to bring his signature sense of style and dedication to the table as Nightshade Noodle Bar’s new Maître d', elevating each guest’s evening with poise and heart.