EATING & DRINKING Why? Isn’t this just like another job? “It has to do with unhappiness,” says Nicky. “About two years ago, I was working late every day on design competitions and was surviving only via Seamless. I ate alone at my desk, staring deep into the screen, one hand with a plastic fork and the other clicking my mouse away. I was not spending time with my friends, did not take good care of myself, and my apartment was neglected to an extent that it had stopped feeling like home. I realized my misery coincided with the time when I stopped cooking.
“People are seeking something more intimate, more special, perhaps something that reminds them of home.” “I grew up in a family where the dinner table is the most important gathering place. Most of my family’s oral history is recorded in the kitchen. So I started to make it my mission to cook dinner on Saturdays, and invited five close friends to share. That was the first Table For Six. After a couple of Saturdays, people started to bring their friends, new friends I have never met. Some of these friends’ friends are professional chefs, and they asked me if they could use my dinners to experiment. The project grew very organically very quickly from there.” Who are the privileged six? “People come from all walks of life, but I realize the table attracts mostly creative types: lots of artists, architects, musicians, fashion designers, art directors, copywriters and media people. We’ve also connected some start-up people
Scallop Benedicct with investors. Some people met their creative partners at the table and went off to do some really cool projects. Some people found love – I’m wondering if the couple who met at our table a year ago are still together.” And your dream six? “Alive or dead? Let’s say live. Kara Walker. Michelle Obama. Elon Musk. Bjarke Ingels. Michael Bierut. Michael Pollan.” It’s a fairly unpredictable formula in some ways – any unscripted disasters? Awful guest? Souffle that refuses to rise? Diner going into anaphylactic shock? Spill the beans. (Spill the beans?) “The dynamic of each table is always very different from one another, but all of our guests have been wonderful. Food-related disasters, we’ve certainly had some. I remember when I was cooking with Chef Jean-Baptiste, I would experiment a lot while he was almost religiously traditional. I insisted on changing the wild strawberries in the mille-feuille to raspberries, and discovered that the pastry wouldn’t stack. We laughed a lot and learned: you don’t mess with a traditional French recipe. With Chef Bryan, there’s less drama because we are equally experimental and rigorous. But somehow Bryan’s kitchen linens keep on catching fire. Thank God no one has to call an ambulance at our dinner table (knock on wood). Even though we run
DIGITAL EDITION
John Dory with fe nnel a dinner party not a restaurant, food safety and city regulation is actually something I think about a lot – I have a speech prepared if my dinner party is raided by the Health Department.” Why are New Yorkers so hooked on the supper club concept? “New Yorkers are innately courageous and extremely adaptive. I’m not surprised that people are always on the hunt for the next discovery. With new restaurants at every corner and amazing chefs from all over the world, New Yorkers are exposed to an incredible range of palate. But people are seeking something more intimate, more special, perhaps something that reminds them of home.” Have you checked out the competition? “In fact I didn’t know much about the secret supper club scene until recently. Everyone keeps on telling me about these ‘speakeasy’ type dinner clubs as soon as they hear about
Opposite page: Smoked duck breast with pistachio butter.. Above page: Scallop quail egg Benedict with radish leaf and edamame puree; John Dory with fennel madarin and black garlic on scallion puree.
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