VICTORIA HUGHES

General Manager Victoria was raised on The Outer Banks of North Carolina. During her career, she has accumulated a stellar resume in fine dining and high-end cuisine with over 30 years of experience.

She has carved an intrepid path across the continental US, working under two separate James Beard award-winning chefs including Sam McGann at The Blue Point in Duck, North Carolina, and Todd Jurich’s Bistro in Norfolk, Virginia. In Breckenridge, Colorado, she worked her way up from bartender to her first General Manager position at The Gold Dredge.

In 2018 Victoria and her husband relocated to Maui to exchange snow for sand. After a year at the Monkeypod Kitchen and two years managing at Gannon’s restaurant, Victoria decided to step back from larger restaurants to focus her experience towards a more boutique offering.

She joined the team at Lineage Restaurant in 2020, and in 2023 was promoted to General Manager.

She describes Lineage as being different than anywhere else she’s worked. The care and commitment from the staff inspired her from the beginning. The staff warmly welcomed her and were so passionate about the restaurant that it rejuvenated her love for the service industry. Victoria describes working at Lineage as working with genuine Ohana.

Victoria resides in Kihei, Maui with her husband, Ed. When they are not working, they focus on philanthropic passions. Victoria is the founder of Piilani Cats Maui, a rescue that specializes in helping the feral cat population on Maui and is currently awaiting nonprofit status.

April Talia Leslie

Lead Mixologist April Talia Leslie was born on the island of Kaua’i in the little town of Kapa’a in the midst of the hippie era. April was raised in a household with a focus on natural and Chinese medicine, with a medicine cabinet stocked with herbs and tinctures. Being raised in the rural areas of Hawaii has only further inspired April’s appreciation for and connection to the land. She is an avid forager of local ingredients, and strives to find new ways of integrating plants with medicinal properties into cocktails.

CHRISTOPHER D’AGOSTINO

Christopher D’Agostino originally hails from the San Francisco Bay area. Prior to arriving on Maui, Christopher worked with Panera Bread in Florida. When he came to Maui, Chris honed his skills at the Cow Pig Bun and the Maui Roasted Bistro food truck where both places demanded a high level of execution and integrity. Chris has become an indispensable member of the Lineage team bringing a positive attitude to the kitchen as well as the ability to execute as a leader.

Nelson Simpliciano

Nelson Simpliciano has been part of the LINEAGE culinary team since its opening in October 2018. He was born on Maui to Ilocano parents who immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines. While attending Lahainaluna High School, he began to explore culinary possibilities in his parent’s kitchen. After earning degrees in Applied Science Culinary Arts and Applied Science Baking and Pastry at the University of Hawaii at Maui Campus, Nelson worked as line cook at Star Noodle in Lahaina then Migrant in Kihei until he found his stride at Morimoto Maui as a pastry cook. It was here where he fine-tuned his pastry skills by creating a variety of dessert dishes following the strict Morimoto standards. Working at both Migrant and Morimoto’s helped shape him in respect to his future as a cook and as a pastry cook. He then spent the next three years in Honolulu at the famed The Pig and The Lady restaurant under Executive Chef and owner Andrew Le, discovering the savory side of cooking and the ethics of running a kitchen. In 2018, Nelson was ready to return home to Maui and reached out to his friend Chef Sheldon Simeon, whom he had worked with at Star Noodle and Migrant. Chef Sheldon invited him to join the LINEAGE opening team as sous chef. Nelson brings his local sensibilities to cooking and enjoys collaborating on new dishes. You can experience his culinary creativity on the menu’s Garlic Szechuan Noodles that he refers to as his three-way garlic dish, which consists of garlic oil, fresh garlic and fried garlic plus green onions, Szechuan chili oil, umami seasoning and sweet soy sauce. His still hasn’t forgotten his sweet side and you can enjoy the LINEAGE take on Tapioca, consisting of white peach, lemon, nata de coco and a little umami flavor – all vegan, all gluten-free. When not in the kitchen, Nelson enjoys kayak fishing, free diving, and fishing from shore. He and his girlfriend, Rossel Estillore, reside in Lahaina raising their baby boy Grayson.

Emmanuel Eng

Emmanuel Eng, known to his friends as “Eman,” was born in Portland, Oregon to Chinese parents from Hong Kong and Mainland China. As a child, he enjoyed discovering his family’s pantry full of Chinese ingredients, such as star anise, sichuan peppercorns, dried orange peel, and a multitude of soy sauces.  Always curious as to how things would taste together, he would experiment with them for the family table. When deciding on a major in college, he decided to pursue the Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design.

He majored in Glassblowing but soon left to pursue a career in graphic design during the tech boom in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was here that he fell in love with the notion of a culinary lifestyle. In 2001, during the Dot.Com bust, he decided it was time to follow his passion. He walked into Indigo Restaurant on McAllister Street and asked to work for free, if the chef would teach him how to be a better cook. Within a short time, he was hired then promoted to line cook. He spent the next few years creating his own apprenticeship program moving from restaurant to restaurant until he landed a position as sous chef at the popular Boulevard Restaurant in the Embarcadero District. Owner and Executive Chef Nancy Oakes was a big influence in his culinary education and journey. She taught him how to be creative and really cook by feel as opposed to following a recipe.

It was at this restaurant where he met his future wife, Ann Hamm. He worked several years at Boulevard, with a short stint at Sons and Daughters Restaurant, before moving to Maverick Restaurant in the Mission District as Chef de Cuisine, then Executive Chef where he finally had the opportunity to create a menu from scratch. Emmanuel ended the Bay Area chapter of his life as the Executive Chef at Bix Restaurant where he worked for the celebrated restauranteur Bruce Hill, who taught him how to master running a restaurant and understand the financial and administrative side of it. Throughout his career, Emmanuel and his wife spent many a holiday on Maui and each time after they left the island, they felt homesick not realizing that one day Maui would be their home.

In 2019 they left San Francisco and moved to Maui where Emmanuel became the Corporate Chef for Bev Gannon’s Restaurants where he oversaw and managed daily operations for two restaurants and its catering company. He joined the LINEAGE team in early 2021 and finally has a chance to explore the cuisine of his heritage that he first discovered in his family’s pantry as a child. When not in the kitchen, Emmanuel is an avid rock climber and bicycle enthusiast. He and his wife Ann reside in Makawao with their parrot whose name is Ziggy Stardust.