Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
New Yorkers Paid $210 To Eat Food Cooked By A 15-Year-Old Last Night
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 20, 2014
Modified May 20, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 20, 2014
Modified May 20, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
When I was fifteen, my mother taught me how to boil water for pasta so I could get dinner started before she got home. Last night, a 15-year-old made me shell-grilled scallops served with champagne fermented turnips, celery root puree and scallop jus, so chances are he won't be spending his post-college years eating Goya beans out of a can.
Said 15-year-old is Flynn McGarry, a controversial teen chef prodigy who's worked in some of the finest restaurant kitchens in the country and runs a $160-a-head pop-up dinner series dubbed "Eureka" in his parents' Los Angeles home. McGarry, who landed a cover story in the New York Times Magazine in March, is in town this week for a two-night only dinner series at Creative Edge Parties in the West Village. Last night marked the first $150-a-head, eight-course dinner, complete with a $60 wine pairing (I was invited as a guest), and a few dozen diners turned out to see how well the kid could whip up his emulsions.
Turns out he can make them pretty well. Elegant dishes like langoustine tartare, radishes grilled with lardo and ramps, and duck cooked in cocoa butter were prepared delicately, and packed with subtle, sophisticated flavor. The aforementioned grilled scallops were particularly good, as was McGarry's beet "wellington", a hearty hunk of pastry-wrapped beet served with creamed kale and topped with a rich beet bordelaise. This is not the Easy Mac meal of your own teen culinary days of yore.
There were some pitfalls—the 8-course menu was somehow stretched into a four-plus-hour 12-course one, with some diners waiting particularly long between entree courses. And while the dinner was certainly tasty, the whole shebang seemed a tad bit gimmicky, like a ninja-themed meal you might drop $60-to-$90 on, as opposed to paying the price of a more refined tasting menu at Torrisi or for lunch at Per Se. And there's been some talk in the culinary world about whether or not Chef Doogie Howser could hack it if he weren't so hooked up—his parents, who built him a custom-designed kitchen stocked with thousands of dollars worth of cooking gear, have major connections in Hollywood, making those $160 pop-up dinners all the more possible.
Fancy cookware and Lena Dunham-esque networking benefits aside, the kid sure knows how to make a duck roulade. Teens could be worse.
Tagged
flynn mcgarry
pop ups
teen chef
teenagers
teens
original
Rebecca Fishbein
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
Why NYC restaurants are playing coy about sustainability
Though it has multiple benefits, the practice remains popular for one basic reason: it saves money.
By
Samantha Dady
Published Oct 26, 2026
Where are the cheapest drinks in NYC? A new report details the city's average prices.
The median price of a cocktail in the city is now $16, and $9 for a draft beer.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Food
Where are the cheapest drinks in NYC? A new report details the city's average prices.
The median price of a cocktail in the city is now $16, and $9 for a draft beer.
By
Hannah Frishberg
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
By
Robert Sietsema
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .