In celebration of the diverse culinary inspirations that have made New York City the culinary heartland that it is, chef Gabriel Kreuther is continuing his Chef x Chef series and is hosting Cedric Vongerichten of Wayan and Ma•dé for a one-night-only four-hands dinner.
Taking place on June 3, the one-off culinary experience will see the two celebrated chefs collaborate on a special menu that fuses classic French culinary styles with the bold flavors of Indonesia.
The evening marks the second in Restaurant Gabriel Kreuther’s Chef x Chef series, each of which invites a different guest chef to the restaurant in a bid to explore the influence that French cuisine still holds on the global hospitality industry. Last September, chef Pierre Tham, of celebrated East African outlet Teranga, launched the series with another one-night-only appearance in Kreuther’s kitchen.
Chefs
Gabriel Kreuther
With experience in some of Europe’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants, Gabriel Kreuther is one of the most reputable chefs of his generation. His first exposure to the US culinary scene was at the now-closed La Caravelle, followed by a stint at Restaurant Jean-George Central Park. It was during his tenure as executive chef at the two-Michelin-starred The Modern that Kreuther’s reputation as one of the city’s best was properly cemented.
In 2015, Kreuther went solo and opened his eponymous restaurant neighboring Bryant Park, which fuses the cuisine of his home nation of Alsace with his classic French culinary training. Since 2019, the restaurant has been duly awarded with two stars in the annual Michelin guide.
Cedric Vongerichten
Son of world-famous chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Cedric Vongerichten has culinary excellence in his blood. Although born in Bangkok, the younger Vongerichten spent much of his early years in New York, where he shadowed his father. His resume is rich with superstar restaurants, including the likes of El Bulli, and he still holds the title of chef de cuisine at Perry St – an NYC institution that he opened with his father in 2005.
In recent years, Vongerichten has carved his own path in New York’s culinary sphere, opening Wayan, meaning ‘firstborn’ in Balinese, with his wife Ochi, followed by Ma•dé, meaning ‘secondborn’, in 2022. Both restaurants offer Indonesian-French-inspired cuisine in convivial settings.
Menu
The multi-course menu might be an experimental mix of flavors and cuisines, but the evening, at its heart, is all about fine dining. On booking, guests can choose between the condensed four-course offering or go all-out with the entire elevated tasting menu, which plays out over a nine-course extravaganza.
Bespoke cocktails will begin, setting the tone for the evening. Guests can choose between a non-alcoholic pina colada-inspired libation and the Devil’s Avocado – a heady mix of tequila, mezcal, honey and avocado.
The dishes that follow are a deft mix between French and Indonesian flavors: black cod is doused in lightly spiced ‘bilindango’ sauce (a staple on the Wayan menu), while flake crudo is enlivened with green chili sambal hijau.
Representing Europe, creamy Epoisses cheese is paired with Burgundy truffles (albeit served in an Indian-inspired pani puri shell), and a wild mushroom parfait with be topped with imperial ossetra caviar.
The evening is set to round off with an unexpected twist: a nightcap that pulls on the unique flavors of Japan, with miso toffee, Suntory Toki whisky and fleur de sel.
