Recorded live at Phoenix Palace during NYC StarChefs Rising Stars. Sponsored by Symrise.
In this special episode of Flavors Unknown, we head to New York City for a dynamic roundtable with four of the most exciting names in the city’s food and beverage scene:
Chef Zhan Chen – Executive Chef at Phoenix Palace, redefining Cantonese dining in Chinatown.
Chef Neel Kajale – Chef de Cuisine at Dhamaka, championing bold Indian regional cuisine at Essex Market.
Chef Luis Herrera – The talent behind Ensenada, bringing coastal Mexican flavors to Brooklyn and Miami.
Richie Millwater – Mixologist and Bar Manager at Clemente Bar, upstairs at Eleven Madison Park, where nostalgic classics meet boundary-pushing cocktails.
Together, they unpack the evolution of New York’s dining and drinking scene post-pandemic—from the craving for authenticity and simplicity to the new generation’s reimagining of luxury, balance, and creativity behind the pass and the bar.
What you’ll learn from this panel discussion
- 3:17 – The moment that shook the hospitality industry
- 4:49 – Why many are stepping away from fine dining
- 5:49 – The tension between upscale indulgence and underground gems
- 7:50 – The power and precision of honoring regional cuisines
- 8:26 – Turning up the spice in Indian food
- 9:15 – Why you won’t find butter chicken on the Dhamaka menu
- 10:38 – The rise of hyper-local, hyper-specific food storytelling
- 13:40 – Storytelling as a vital ingredient on the plate
- 14:02 – How chefs adapt concepts for new cities and diners
- 19:30 – Why Miles Davis still echoes at Eleven Madison Park
- 20:03 – Reinventing classics: where cocktail culture meets innovation
- 20:21 – How kitchens are inspiring the bar—from scraps to sips
- 22:16 – Cooking from memory: Neel’s creative muse
- 23:01 – Nose-to-tail, root-to-stem: India’s culinary ethos
- 26:39 – How NYC flavors mirror its cultural kaleidoscope
- 27:38 – The many faces (and uses) of soy
- 28:58 – Creativity through constraint: turning limitations into art
- 30:34 – The grind and beauty of cooking everything from scratch
- 32:22 – Culinary cross-pollination: when food inspires drinks
- 33:25 – Ferments, funk, and flavor layering behind the bar
- 36:00 – The world’s most popular spirit no one’s talking about
- 37:11 – What’s missing from most bars today
- 37:36 – The unlikely inspiration found in Chinese supermarkets
- 39:32 – Signature flavors from Ensenada, Dhamaka, Phoenix Palace & Clemente
- 44:20 – How these chefs seek bala
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