Nat Gelb grew up in a house off a dirt road in a tiny town in upstate New York. “Really off the grid,” he says. His family never went to restaurants; his parents cooked all their food. When he moved to New York City, he says, “I was blown away by all the amazing restaurants, but I missed being able to form a human connection to the people who were making the food I was eating.”
Another incentive, he says, is that chefs are able to connect more with the diners than they normally would. “Restaurants really want to tell their story, but they don’t get to in the typical day to day. The industry is built on turning as many covers as you can in a night.” With these meals, the chefs come out several times to talk about their background, influences, and the dishes they’re serving. “It’s much more like going to a show than eating a meal,” Gelb says. Seating is communal, and many of the dishes are served family-style, with big platters being passed around the table. “It’s not a white-tablecloth tasting-menu experience,” he says. “It’s a big, lively dinner party.”
