Emmeline Zhao

Managing Partner & Sommelier

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Emmeline grew up across North Carolina and Shanghai — which, combined with extensive international travel and study — helped her develop a palate that is both Coastal Southern and global. She spent her childhood leapfrogging between Chapel Hill, N.C., Shanghai, Tokyo, and Sweden, and developed her love for cross-cultural discourse as she traveled across Asia and Europe for work and study.

Prior to Figure Eight and Cora, Emmeline worked at Wylie Dufresne’s Alder and was a fromagère at Casellula while also leading the restaurant’s social media and marketing efforts. In partnership with Simone Tong, she opened Little Tong Noodle Shop in 2017 and then Silver Apricot in 2020, which went on to be named one of "The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City" by The New York Times. 

She is also the Managing Partner and Sommelier of Figure Eight, the Southern Seafood restaurant showcasing Chinese-American pantry items, just next door to Cora.

Starting her career as a journalist covering economics and education, Emmeline is the Chief Creative Officer  for The 74, a nonprofit education news website. She previously worked for The Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal, and was the founding editor of RealClearEducation. She earned a B.A. in public policy and a certificate in policy journalism and media studies from Duke University, and studied science, ethics, and policy while at the University of Oxford.