5 Up-and-Coming Celebrity Chefs You're About to See Everywhere
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who just go to the restaurants their friends suggest, and those who spend extensive time researching and reading up on the best new restaurants and chefs in their local neighborhood. These foodies are passionate about the latest happenings in the food scene, and are constantly staying on top of the hottest trends.
If you're into the trying the best new restaurants in town, you'll surely be excited to learn about these 5 up & coming chefs making huge waves in the industry. Read up on these, then check out The Best Expensive Restaurant in Every State.
Calvin Eng
Calvin Eng is a chef on the rise, and he isn't stopping anytime soon. Named as one of Forbes' "30 Under 30" honorees and one of Food & Wine's "Best New Chefs of 2022," this Cantonese-American chef is taking the New York culinary scene by storm.
Recently, Eng celebrated his one-year anniversary of opening up Bonnie's, a Cantonese-American restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Before opening Bonnie's, Eng was well-known for his time as chef at the famous Taiwanese-American Brooklyn staple, Win Son.
Eater NY refers to Bonnie's "A Williamsburg Party Worth Waiting For," and according to Food & Wine, "the most exciting table in the country right now is the large round wooden one that sits in the front right corner of Bonnie's."
Not only can you find Chef Calvin Eng at Bonnie's, but according to his Instagram, he also recently partnered with Vita Coco, a brand he "grew up drinking."
Ana Castro
Ana Castro is an up-and-coming chef who can be found on Food & Wine's "Best New Chefs" list, as well as in the conversations of local New Orleans patrons and visiting tourists alike.
Castro is the executive chef at New Orleans-based restaurant Lengua Madre—which means "mother tongue" in Spanish. According to Food & Wine, Lengua Madre is "Castro's ode to both the strength and whimsy of Mexican cooking."
In an interview back in April, Castro shared with Gambit that her recipes are inspired from the memories cooking with her grandmother and other family members. "Memories are fragile, like a bubble, and they can burst…I try to have my grandmother represented in everything that I do, but not exactly. She's always with me," Castro said.
Not only has Castro been recognized as one of the best up and coming chefs, but Lengua Madre was recognized as one of Bon Appétit's "50 Best New Restaurants of 2022."
Emily Riddell
Another winner of Food & Wine's "Best New Chefs," Emily Riddell is a pastry chef making enormous waves.
Riddell is the owner and head chef of Machine Shop, a pastry shop located in Philadelphia. According to an article published in Delco Today, Machine Shop started as a wholesale business back in 2017. Today, it's a widely recognized pastry eatery that even made Eater's list of "15 Best New Restaurants in America" after just one year as a retail space.
According to Eater, Machine Shop is "one of the country's best French bakeries." And not only does Riddell craft some of the most delicious pastries in the country, she is recognized for cultivating a community of delicious food without elitism. "Machine Shop embodies high standards of excellence without any of the pretension. It's just how we do things in Philly," writes Dayna Evans via Eater.
Ayo Balagun
Chef Ayo Balogun has been a well-known part of the Bed-Stuy community of Brooklyn for years. His first endeavor, a coffee shop named Civil Service Coffee that opened in 2013, reopened as The Council in 2015 after a car drove through the front of the building. He then opened Trade Union Cafe in 2015, a pop-up dinner establishment where he began truly unleashing his Nigerian roots in newly experimental ways.
Even though Balogun has been in the scene for years, it was his opening of Dept of Culture in January 2022 that launched him into celebrity chef status. Debt of Culture, which is known for it's North-central Nigerian cuisine, was recently named one of Eater's 15 Best New Restaurants of 2022.
Since the opening of Dept of Culture, Balogun has been featured in publications like GrubStreet, Eater NY, and The New Yorker, just to name a few.
Trevor Moran
Truthfully, chef Trevor Moran has been making a name for himself for years. Her earned recognition at places like The Catbird Seat and Noma in Copenhagen, but it's Moran's latest endeavor that has earned him an even more buzz-worthy spot in the culinary world.
Locust, a restaurant in Nashville, has only been open for a little over two years and already found its way on The New York Times' "Restaurant List of 2022."
Locust is just as much known for its experience as it is its food. The restaurant maintains an air of mystery throughout the whole process, with their minimalist website, small 36-seat dining area, and the fact that there is actually no serving staff. Moran's unique way of approaching food and dining is sure to keep him on the map for years to come.
