Inside the Golden Era of Chef Collaborations

On a recent trip to New York, I suggested to an old friend who lives in the East Village that we dine at Claud, the acclaimed French restaurant on East 10th Street. She’d never been to Claud, but her eyes lit up. “There’s a Zuni Cafe dinner there tomorrow!”

In New York, this kind of culinary intel is social currency. My friend hadn’t managed to snag a seat at the sold-out Berkeley, California legend-meets-lower-Manhattan collaboration dinner in mid-May—but two weeks later, Claud’s upstairs seafood sibling, Penny, hosted LA’s venerable seafood chef Michael Cimarusti of Providence for a similar one-night-only menu.

“In a perfect world, I think we're trying to do at least eight in each restaurant a year,” says Joshua Pinsky, chef-partner at Claud, referring to the visiting chef events. Claud and Penny aren’t the only spots taking on the extra work of hosting—or traveling to—other chefs for these dinners. Just a few blocks away, Smithereens recently hosted Rob Rubba of Michelin-starred Oyster Oyster in D.C. and Locust from Nashville in early June, as the appetite for chef collaborations seems more prolific than ever.

“I think chefs are more in the weeds than ever, for many not-so-great reasons, so they appreciate the opportunity to collab with friends and feel a sense of community,” says food writer and industry expert Andy Wang. “And obviously, it’s a way to generate excitement and covers, especially on slower days of the week.”

Why Collaborations Are Everywhere Right Now

These events are undeniably becoming more widespread. It’s easy to assume they exist purely to generate much-needed marketing buzz in a challenging time for the industry and to fill seats on slower nights—which they certainly do. But after speaking with many chefs and restaurant owners, it’s clear that full dining rooms and extra PR are more like organic perks than primary motivations. The reasons and benefits run deeper: community-building, kitchen staff education, morale-boosting, accessible menus for locals, and platforms for raising money or awareness for important causes.

Beyond Buzz: The Deeper Benefits for Chefs and Guests

Sisters Meave and Rory McAuliffe of Rory’s Place in Ojai, California, first launched events like these to spotlight their friend, chef Courtney Storer, who doesn’t have a restaurant of her own. They’ve found it incredibly valuable to bring guest chefs into a small town with so few other dining options.

“She’s a great friend and a great chef, and she brings this Italian-American food background,” says Rory McAuliffe of Storer, emphasizing how fun it is to collaborate with chefs who offer different flavors. “And then we thought, because we live in such a small town that doesn't have many different types of food, it would be really fun to continue in the same way.”

Since then, the sisters have reached out to chefs they didn’t previously know, partnering with Holy Basil in Los Angeles and planning a lineup of summer events featuring, among others, Tara Monsod—the James Beard–nominated chef behind Animae and Le Coq in San Diego—and Charles Namba, Courtney Kaplan, and Klementine Song of Tsubaki and OTOTO in L.A.

Small Towns, Big Ideas

“We also purposely did them on weekdays so that we don't need to fight with the expectation of a tourist who's coming up for a weekend dinner,” says Rory, explaining that these events are designed for their beloved regulars and locals who want to enjoy exciting flavors from elsewhere.

“With the speed of information traveling across the world at lightning speed, people are much more aware of what restaurants on the other side of the world are doing,” says Kaplan, whose restaurant OTOTO, co-owned with chef partner Charles Namba, is currently in residency at the Mauna Lani Auberge Resort on the Island of Hawai’i. The pair flew out to train the staff to prepare signature dishes like Namba’s hiyashi chuka egg noodles with miso, cucumber, shiso, and nori for beachfront hotel guests. “While you can see it all unfold on social media or in the press, you can't always experience it, so these residencies and collaborations offer the opportunity to enjoy a restaurant you may not have access to otherwise, which is exciting.”

Since reopening three years ago in downtown Los Angeles, Kato—where chef Jon Yao just won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: California—has been hosting twice-yearly Lunar New Year and Fall Festival dinner series with visiting chefs from around the world. This summer, the restaurant will also host the second iteration of their weekly Summer Sunday Series featuring more accessibly priced collaborative menus with local chefs.

Training, Inspiration, and the Future of Kitchen Culture

Although these events stem from an intrinsic desire among chefs to connect, one major benefit for restaurant kitchens is the break from routine—and the invaluable educational opportunities they bring for staff.

“It’s not like restaurant work is necessarily monotonous, but there are periods of it, I think. If you’ve never worked in one, you don't know how many onions get peeled a day,” says Joshua Pinsky. “Doing these things is, A, a break from that, and B, a luxury to have somebody you look up to or admire come and share knowledge,” he says, noting the invaluable teaching component for the kitchen staff. “It's also an excuse to have someone come in to show you a trick, share wisdom, and just talk about food.” He adds that the entire kitchen staff requests to work on these nights.

“Multiple times there’ll be more people who want to work, so we’re like, ‘Okay, I guess we’ll just have more people here that day in some sort of organized fashion,’ because everybody wants to touch a piece of it. Why wouldn’t they?” says Pinsky, who feels fortunate to have cooks at both restaurants eager and hungry to learn—some even choosing to spend their days off training in other kitchens.

That said, he believes the old-school practice of staging in kitchens isn’t happening as much anymore, making these visiting chef dinners all the more valuable for young cooks.

“Doing these things gives our team something to look forward to—something different from the routine tasks they’re asked to perform every day,” says Kato co-owner and sommelier Ryan Bailey, who shares a similar sentiment about the value these events bring to his staff.

“If you do something 40 times in a row, you're going to be really, really good at doing it. That's fine dining,” says Bailey, noting that while such repetition is essential in the industry, this kind of rigid structure can be challenging for some personalities—and that these special nights offer welcome relief.

“I think the real thing is that it's much harder to inspire your staff than to intimidate them,” says Meave McAuliffe, speaking on the topic of an outdated chef culture. “Old chefs have leaned so long on intimidation or discipline and keeping things moving quickly in a high-stress environment. But inspiring your staff, you just get such better work and deeper commitment and stronger connection, too, and so this guest chefs series has been an opportunity also to continue to inspire them.”

As more chefs and restaurants embrace collaborations, these events are transforming far more than just a single night’s service. They’re forging creative partnerships, offering diners rare glimpses into distant kitchens, and sometimes unlocking seats at restaurants or with chefs who might otherwise be impossible to experience. In an industry that has weathered some of its toughest years, these dinners are building connections, fueling curiosity, and giving both chefs and guests new reasons to come to the table. If we’re truly living in a golden era of chef collaborations, it’s one defined not just by buzz or sold-out tables—but by the doors it opens across stoves, cities, and cuisines.