Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Worn Out Wednesday – Noah Karesh

Today we meet Noah Karesh, founder and CEO of Feastly.

Noah Karesh is an entrepreneur, technologist, and restaurateur. He is obsessed with building social capital and creating value through disruptive technology in the food space. From a social media driven taco stand in the Middle East, to a highly praised pop-up cafe in D.C. (Blind Dog Cafe), to his current startup, Feastly, Noah uses creative dining concepts to build community around the world.

Recommended Videos

Noah is the founder and CEO of Feastly, a p2p platform that enables hungry eaters to discover delicious meals by supper clubs and up-and-coming chefs. Feastly’s mission is to give eaters access to unique meals all over the world. As a community-based hospitality company, Feastly is rebuilding the dinner table one meal at a time.

From his work, Noah has become a sought after thought leader on the future interplay between food and technology. Noah has advised Fortune 500 companies, government officials, and venture capitalists. He has also appeared on the largest media platforms including CNN, WSJ, MSNBC, Wired, Forbes, Fast Company, among many others.

The inspiration for Feastly occurred when he was traveling in Guatemala with his girlfriend. As he explains to us, “When we travel we, like many people, love to eat as locally as possible. I explore culture through its food. However, in Guatemala a very strange thing happened; I could not find any Guatemalan food. After an exhaustive search we randomly asked a young avocado seller where we could find some. He looked up at us with a big smile on his face and said “at my mom’s house.” So we followed him to his house, he swung open the door and there was his mom making an epic Guatemalan meal. It was at the moment that I asked: why was it so hard for me to find this food and why was it so hard for this woman to showcase her amazing cooking? After that, I wanted to eat better meals no matter where I was in the world and empower the millions of cooks and chefs all over the world to showcase their food on their own terms. I returned from that trip and immediately started Feastly.”

Related Article: Fat Radish’s New Cookbook

As for Noah’s personal style:

My style is all about comfort. It is the most important thing about my clothing; it guides all my decisions. I like all my clothing to be multifunctional. I want to be able to easily dress it up or down. I also like to layer. Beyond liking the layering style, layers are incredibly functional. I’m constantly between San Francisco and New York City and it’s important for me to layer for the varying temperatures and to be comfortable when I travel.

Jeans: Levi’s 511. Levi’s 511 are extremely comfortable. You can also dress them up or down. So it’s perfect for spending time in San Francisco or New York.

Shirts: I mostly wear button down shirts. I don’t really care about labels or specific brands, as long as the fit is perfect and I like the look.

Pants: Majority of my pants are jeans, except for a few pants from J.Crew.

Suits: Most suits don’t fit me well. So all of my suits are bespoke. I am big fan of sites like indochino.com. For the cost of off-the-rack suits that you then have to get tailored, it’s almost more than the cost of a bespoke suit ordered online. It makes the most sense in terms of value and it looks much better on me.

Shoes: I’m always looking for a comfortable shoe that looks sweet. I love mid tops.   Most of my shoes are nice looking, but still casual. I also love brands that have a great ethos behind them. Some of my favorite shoes are Natural World, which use all natural materials and ethical manufacturing practices.

Another is Inkkas. They use traditional prints and work with local artisans all over the world to make their sneakers. Also, they plant a tree for every shoe purchased.

Accessories: I keep it pretty minimal on the accessories. I do love cool watches with a great story. Some of my favorite brands Nooka  and Shinola watches.

Outerwear: In the winter I love mid-thigh length Shearling coats. They are so warm. I’m also loving this new brand called AQ. It’s started by a surfboard shaper up in Marin County. It looks like clothing you’d see in a 1970s surf magazine: original cut & sew, bright, super comfortable. Their hoodies are epic.

Favorite Cologne: I prefer to keep it as natural as possible, but when I put something on its BVLGARI AQVA.

Your favorite App: My favorite apps are my go to ones. To find my way around town it’s always Google Maps. To get around town, it’s Lyft. I use Yelp a lot of find things to do/eat. I am a news junkie, so always read The New York Times and Timeline, a new cool app for getting history of a news story. For killing some time, I use Duo Lingo to practice my Spanish and play Trivia Crack. I also love Pocket – you can store any article to read later on your phone offline. Another app I love is Postmates, it gets me whatever I need on demand.

If I need some quiet time in the city, I open up Breather and can find a beautiful quiet space anytime.

Favorite piece of technology: Nomiku  is an epic sous vide machine that anyone can use. If you are a lazy cook, this is the perfect item for you. Its super simple and everything comes out delicious and perfectly cooked every time. You literally can’t mess it up. It also sounds very fancy, so you can impress everyone by telling him or her how you cooked it.

Next tech purchase: Grow Bounty. It’s the coolest way to grow the most nutritious food possible. I can grow my own food without having to put too much effort into it. They provide a guided process, all the right ingredients, and connected tech that makes it super easy for me to grow the freshest food. It’s modular and portable, so it goes anywhere. And the subscription to new seedlings means I never worry about upkeep. I just pop in a new one and keep growing.

Cator Sparks
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Cator Sparks was the Editor-in-Chief of The Manual from its launch in 2012 until 2018. Previously, Cator was covering…
New York Men’s Day Debut: Max Esmail honors the artist’s creative vision
Creating a space for innovation at NYMD with Max Esmail
Max Esmail Hero

New York Fashion Week has been a staple in the fashion industry's calendar since World War 2, where designers and brands come together to show off for the press and the buyers who drive the industry's narrative. However, New York Men's Day is much younger as it only appeared in 2014 to showcase young menswear talent looking to break into the industry and take the style world by storm. Essential menswear brands with a story to tell, like Y.Chroma by Max Israel, make splashes in the small space with innovative designs and a goal to implant inspiration in your mind about your style. There were multiple firsts this year, and the Max Esmail NYMD Debut became a space for the creative.
The creative's energy

With the NYC skyline as a backdrop, Max Esmail introduced his Fall and Winter 2025 collection, 55 Bond St. Inspired by his studio; it became a place for creative innovation steeped in an artistic design influenced by modernist architecture and Bauhaus principles. Using leather, marble, and tubular steel, inspired by designers such as Breuer, Kjaerholm, and Mies van der Rohe, Esmail brings sheik minimalist menswear to an ordinarily inaccessible high fashion world of New York Fashion Week. Standouts of the collection are a handful of leather jackets and other outerwear for every moment of your time in blustery New York City and suiting, putting a modern twist on classic silhouettes. While this is a debut for NYMD, a collection like 55 Bond St. looks to the future as a brand ready to spring onto the scene for years to come.

Read more
New York Men’s Day debut: Peak Lapel remembers home for the holidays
Channeling the coziness of being home for the holidays
Peak Lapel foursome

New York Men's Day is one of the meccas for up-and-coming men's designers looking to make a splash in the industry. Focusing on those independent brands with a hunger for inspiration and a story to tell their consumers, NYMD spotlights some of the hottest names you may not have heard of year in and year out. One of the more interesting debuts was from a pair of Parsons School of Design students, Jack Milkes and Ben Stedman. The Peak Lapel NYMD Debut sought inspiration from the warmth you feel when going home for the holidays. With the snow falling outside the windows and looking over the New York City streets, regardless of the time of year, onlookers felt right at home with the feeling of yuletide family time.
Cozy prepwear for the holidays

Walking into the room occupied by Peak Lapel at New York Men's Day was like taking a step into a 1960s Ivy League house party. The music filtered through the conversations of those admiring the preppy looks worn by the models engaged in conversation. The bright colors of the classic preppy styles, red, blue, and yellow, jumped out at the onlookers as those vintage silhouettes brought a throwback feel to the new-age grandpa core. A genderless approach to the collection made the garments feel at home no matter who you are or where you go for the holidays. Wool, herringbone, and houndstooth aplenty make this one of the highlights of New York Men's Day. Keep your eye out for more stylish offerings from the hopeful new prep kings, Peak Lapel.

Read more
Grand Seiko has a new limited-edition watch inspired by Mt. Iwate’s beauty
Grand Seiko SLGH027 is the embodiment of Mt. Iwate
Grand Seiko SLGH027

Grand Seiko is setting the standards with its latest watch, the Grand Seiko SLGH027.

Featuring a 41 mm casing, this new Grand Seiko watch has a stylish front face accentuated by a white dial. Since the brand’s headquarters is quite close to Mt. Iwate, elements that are featured on the watch resemble the mountain.

Read more