Who We Are
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.
Director of Operations Alex Caruso
Raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Alex has spent over two decades as an integral part of the opening teams for seven restaurants, building both systems and service cultures from the ground up. At Nightshade Noodle Bar, she leads the service team, curates the beverage program, and works hard to build a culture of excellence and growth.
She served as Opening General Manager of Fox & the Knife, which was named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Restaurants in America, and has been a visible leader within several Boston hospitality landmarks, including Myers & Chang, Barcelona Wine Bar, and The Beehive.
Alex studied at Antioch College and Lesley University, with a focus on communications, education, and art, a foundation that continues to shape her approach to leadership, training, and hospitality culture.
She holds certifications from the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and the Italian Trade Agency, and is a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist. While her credentials reflect technical expertise, she measures success by the growth of the people she leads and the long-term relationships formed with guests who return not only as regulars but as part of the community.
What drives Alex is the creation of environments rooted in trust, care, and genuine hospitality. Her leadership philosophy centers on building experiences that move beyond transactional service, focusing instead on thoughtful, individualized care for both guests and team members. She believes fine dining should feel human, where guests are met with ease, respect, and warmth rather than formality or distance.
When not at Nightshade Noodle Bar, Alex can be found at home in Lynn with her partner in work and life, Rachel, and their cats, tending to her plants and traveling whenever possible.