Listen up food & wine lovers…
On March 6th, Gradito - New York’s new destination for in-home private chef experiences - officially launched their private chef app for iOS users. The Gradito App is all about matching curious clients with the city’s best private chefs and sommeliers for an indulgent experience like no other. Not only are they “opening the door to delicious and exclusive experiences” for fine dining fans around the city, but they are also leading the way for luxury fine dining at home with this easy-to-use personal chef on-demand service.
Gradito is home to some of the most elite personal chefs in NYC and the Hamptons. Their top-tier chefs have trained and worked at some of the best Michelin restaurants in the world in countries such as Australia, South Korea, Spain, Italy, and Denmark. Not to mention, they’ve also had the opportunity to work for high-profile names such as Hilary Clinton, Tony Blair, Bon Jovi, Gal Gadot, and many others.
Besides being top-ranked Michelin-trained chefs, Gradito personal chefs are highly skilled in a number of cuisines. From Cantonese to Brazilian to Caribbean, Gradito gives their clients the option to choose the cuisine they desire for their classic (three-course), elevated (five-course), or luxury (seven-course) menus. Gradito private chefs are passionate about expanding clients’ palates through their customizable full-course menus and creating “authentic flavors with a twist” by using the best ingredients available. But the secret to their personalized full-course menus lies deeper than that… These talented private chefs know that the key to making a great dish come alive is spices. They know that food should taste good… But who doesn’t? What sets these chefs apart is that they know food should also engage an individual’s senses in a transformative way. And spices are just the thing that can enhance any culinary experience. So, yes, Gradito private chefs are without a doubt ‘spice aficionados’ when it comes to developing their gourmet creations. They use only the finest spices in the market, and their spice route usually takes them all the way to Hell’s Kitchen…
Located on 724 11th Avenue, La Boîte is NYC’s premier spice atelier and the perfect place for Gradito private chefs to find inspiration & innovative spice creations. With over 80 unique spice blends to choose from, this artisanal store sources its spices from a small select group of farmers and producers from all around the world. And the wizard behind this magical spice shop is none other than master spice blender Lior Lev Sercarz.
With his unparalleled understanding of how spices mix and exist, Sercarz is an expert at crafting some of the rarest spice blends in the market. Forget about choosing a few great spices, mixing them together, and hoping for the best through trial and error… Sercarz has a methodical and quite special process. Instead of creating his unique blends for specific dishes or food, he bases his distinct spice mixes on something or someone in his life. It’s a true art all in and of itself. Sercarz creates flavorful melodies through compositions of spices inspired by the people and abstractions that surround him.
With his out-of-the-box creations, Sercarz is reminding us that spices have infinite potential and are not married to one specific cuisine or dish, but are ready to challenge our senses and perception of food. Of course, his Dali N.20, a blend that delicately brings out saffron and citrus flavors, might go especially well with seafood. And most of us might think that his sweet & savory Moroccan-inspired Marrakesh N.6 was specifically made for cooking dishes from the latter cuisine. Yet, his intention behind his thoughtful blends goes beyond ‘what goes with what’, and more so hints at the idea of ‘what if’... What is that lingering taste and what if we tried it with this?
Quality comes first for Sercarz, and his passion to tell stories and awaken people’s senses through unique combinations of flavors continues to inspire more and more chefs, restaurants, and individuals to experiment with spices. Like Sercarz, Gradito private chefs know that it is indeed possible to tell stories through food and bring out a series of ‘what ifs’ in someone. Through their luxury private chef experiences, they seek to put these 'what ifs' on a plate for people to explore the flavorful universe of spices that exist. That’s why La Boîte is the ideal place for Gradito private chefs to discover spices and blends that can help them take their in-home private chef dining experiences to the next level.
With their years of training and travels, these personal chefs are taking something as intricate as a blend from La Boîte's and using it to create a dish that can exist in multiple dimensions of flavor… They are encouraged to use their creative minds to see what innovative dishes or fusions they can whip up for their clients’ personalized luxury menus. And as a result, are continuing to discover how spices can impact the preparation, transformation, and even presentation of food at an almost molecular level. By using one of these premium crafted blends, Gradito private chefs can masterfully play with their clients’ senses for the ultimate interactive in-home dining experience.
A sophisticated dinner of endless spices and tasteful discoveries is what a dinner with a Gradito private chef promises. Instead of only filling people’s stomachs with delicious food, Gradito private chefs are ready to feed people’s curiosities and make them seek new horizons of flavor through the power of taste. Sercarz and Gradito personal chefs are part of this greater mission to inspire how we think about and experience food.
It’s time to let our taste buds wander onto the unknown… Sercarz has brought something very special to the people of New York, and the private chefs at Gradito know exactly how to introduce and translate his artistry to New Yorkers through unforgettable dishes. Together they’re gradually showing us the unknown flavors that can exist in a dish, one hint of this and a dash of that at a time.
