Matthew Joseph "Matt" Birong Jr. (born May 23, 1977) is an American chef and politician who has represented the Addison-3 Vermont Representative District alongside Diane Lanpher in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4 ...

since 2019 as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life

Birong was born on May 23, 1977, in Burlington, Vermont to Matthew Joseph Birong Sr. and Catherine Mary McNamara, both natives of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was raised in the town of

Essex, Vermont Essex is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Vermont Route 289 crosses the town from east to west. The city of Essex Junction, population 10,590, was located within the town as an incorporated village until 2022. History The ...

. Birong attended the

New England Culinary Institute The New England Culinary Institute (NECI) was a private for-profit culinary school in Montpelier, Vermont. It was founded on June 15, 1980, by Fran Voigt and John Dranow. The first NECI class, conducted by Chef Michel LeBorgne, had seven s ...

and graduated with a degree in Culinary Arts, becoming a professional chef and, according to his official government biography, having worked for over 20 years in establishments located in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, and his home city of Burlington.

Personal life

Birong lives with his wife Danelle Lello Birong and their dog Luna at their residence in

Vergennes, Vermont Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smalle ...

References

1977 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives {{Vermont-politician-stub