We Created the World's Best Restaurant—For Just One Night

On a balmy Wednesday evening in early May, Bon Appétit hosted a stunning four-course dinner in the New York Public Library. Guests, including Anna Wintour, GQ’s Will Welch, Jon Hamm, and The New Yorker’s David Remnick, climbed the library’s marble staircase to the Edna Barnes Salomon Room, which had been transformed into, as Bon Appétit Editor in Chief Jamila Robinson described it, “the best restaurant in America.”

Photo by Hannah Turner-Harts

For one night, Robinson gathered four of the world’s most respected chefs from around the country to create an extraordinary culinary experience completely unique to the night. The renowned chefs had earned a combined total of “nine Michelin stars, 19 James Beard Awards, and so many other accolades," Robinson said in her remarks.

Bon Appétit's Jamila Robinson gives remarks

Photo by Hannah Turner-Harts

The evening began with martinis from the iconic Bemelmans Bar, along with passed hors d'oeuvres crafted by chef Junghyun Park of Atomix. Guests enjoyed small bites of briny mussels filled with Bluefin tuna, piquant gochujang sardine toasts, and an elegant Korean beef tartare. The night’s seated dinner began with a dish by Gregory Gourdet, culinary director of the recently opened Maison Passarelle, and chef-owner of Portland’s Kann, named one of Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants of 2023. Gourdet served a vibrant plating of delicate smoked beets, spring vegetables, and fruits on a bed of airy coconut yogurt. Next came Jordan Kahn of Vespertine’s graceful wild turbot main course, which arrived encased in a sculptural nest made from dried beets. Capping off the the meal was a mouthwatering plant-based take on panna cotta by Eleven Madison Park’s Laura Cronin, reimagined with seasonal flavors of spring: strawberries, cherry blossom, and rose.

Each course was accompanied with a wine pairing curated by Cassandra Felix of Restaurant Daniel, headed by Daniel Boulud. As guests enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime meal, they were treated to a performance by pianist Earl Jones, an Emmy-winning composer and resident pianist at Bemelmans Bar.

“We all have very different styles, but it was cool to be together and have this New York moment,” Gourdet said of the evening. “To be able to put this group of people together,” he continued, “it's very, very, very, very special—very rare. I'm bringing a menu home because I don't know when our names will be on a menu together again.”