Chef de Cuisine Kishen Jagmohan in Riverpark's The Terrace.

Restaurants are like ducks, on top of the water, are the patrons, who coast smoothly into the space for a calm dining experience. Under the water, working hard like duck feet, are the restaurant staff—both front of house and kitchen. They are like hospitality machines. I am so grateful to have been invited into some of the world’s best chef’s kitchens. At this point, I’ve been around enough executive chefs to know that an air of confidence comes with the role. As with any managerial role, self-confidence is a necessity to maintain your team’s trust. In my world, the bravest, most confident of chefs play with fire—often literally. In this case, inviting me, a food writer, into their kitchens as a shadow (perhaps leech is more appropriate?) for six hours without any idea of which parts of the day I will highlight in my article is amongst the boldest moves. I had such a fun day leeching onto Riverpark’s Chef de Cuisine Kishen Jagmohan. Bravo Chef Kish! 

Riverpark's elevated dining area.

Upper Left. One of the windowed views from the Riverpark dining room. | Upper Right. Chef Kishen and me at the very end of my shift.

If you’ve been to Riverpark, you know it is the much-needed riverfront oasis in the otherwise meh Kips Bay neighborhood. It’s an elegant upscale dining experience that sparkles the second you step inside. You enter the restaurant to see an elevated seating area that is well-defined by wooden slats that are evenly speckled with lights to give an indoor twinkle-light vibe. Pair this area with the rich textures of blue tufted velvet, wood, and a glass-shelved bar, and that’s enough for a gorgeous dining experience. None of that is the main selling point. It’s the panoramic river views. Wow! If you’ve ever driven down the FDR Highway and wondered what that beautiful restaurant was with the outdoor terrace, now you know! Now, pause and absorb this. Riverpark is one—count it—of the four dining experiences that Chef Kishen is responsible for. Add to the mix Little River café, their event spaces including Apella, and their outdoor space The Terrace which in the warmer months hosts lots of exciting activations—it’s a ton to oversee, plan for, and execute upon.

Now that the scene is properly painted, envision adding the rouge element of me into this hard-working kitchen. Hard to picture, I know. To be able to do this, you have to be confident about how you run your kitchen and the team you have operating in it. 

“You’re only going to be a good chef when you train your chefs to be good enough to take your job”

- Chef de Cuisine Kishen Jagmohan

Chef Kishen trained his team so well that they could run the kitchen itself. You’ve seen those shows with the horrible executive chefs yelling at their teams until they have breakdowns? Throw that idea away. The experience in this kitchen is nearly the opposite of that. Envision more of a teaching kitchen—not that you would ever know based on the gorgeous dishes that come out of it. As with any great teacher, the idea is to bring your students up, bolster them with confidence, and push them outside their comfort zones so that they can continue to grow to not only push and expand their limits but also to continuously elevate the caliber of the restaurant's menu. This team knows they are heard, are inspired, and feel like they can make a mistake so long as they learn from it—this is a family.  

The Riverpark family cares about each other. It’s Leticia making breakfast for everyone so they can start their days energized and on the right foot. It's German's "impeccable palette". It’s Steven’s great dad jokes. It’s Chef Kishen elevating Javier from dishwasher to Pasta Chef and making sure that, “when I create dishes I make something he doesn’t know so he can continue to learn.” Then, putting aside an occasional knife skill tweak—pinch grip versus pointed finger grip—or a note on flavor—try adding sugar to that sauce—Chef Kishen will step back and “let people do their jobs. Happy people do great work.” Much like in a classroom, every day ends with Chef Kishen's same four questions, “Comments? Concerns? Objections? Opinions?”.

Upper left. Chef Kishen with Sous Chef Sam. | Upper right. Leticia meal prepping.

Chef Kishen, a Boston-raised Guyanese Chef, began his culinary journey learning French Culinary techniques under the tutelage of a Vietnamese chef at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island—imagine the diversity of his skills. After graduating, he moved back to Boston, where he worked at the upscale modern French restaurant Deuxave where the unwavering push for perfection turned him into an extremely talented though self-proclaimed “…mean chef. I’m not gonna lie”. Chef Kishen’s next move took him to the independent Steakhouse Grill 23 & Bar, where he worked under his at-the-time mentor now-turned-friend Executive Chef Ryan Marcoux. As I’m told, Chef Ryan turns out incredibly composed dishes while also maintaining an “it’s just food, it’s fine” attitude. He wanted his kitchen staff, including Chef Kishen, to love him. That was a pivotal kitchen experience for Chef Kishen, “I’m gonna run a kitchen like that … I’ve done what they do. It doesn’t hurt to be nice to people”. After working under Chef Ryan, Chef Kishen moved to New York City’s West Village farm-to-table restaurant Market Table to work under Chef Mike Price, who was “so genuinely nice.” Chef Mike cared about the well-being of his kitchen team. He’d connect with them, ask how their day was going, and follow their lead—if the kitchen needed to close early for a real reason, he heard them and closed it. And now, fast forward, we’re here with Chef de Cuisine Kishen Jagmohan, and all of the experiences that made him the chef that he is today, working hard to humbly helm the crew of Riverpark’s kitchen.

“HA, this is funny, my friend Cam likes to say, ‘Do you know the shit I’ve been through to be this humble’”

- Chef Kishen quoting his friend Chef Cam

The making of Chef Kishen’s “Celery Diamonds” that I am so proud of.

After an extensive tour of the event spaces, the smaller finishing kitchen used specifically for events, The Terrace, Little River, and even inside of the walk-in fridge in the Riverpark kitchen, I had the niche opportunity to don an apron and a chef’s knife and join Chef Kishen’s kitchen staff for the afternoon. I began my kitchen duties at a station next to Chef Kishen and followed his lead. My tasks were to remove leaves from stems of a variety of herbs and—drum roll, please—the more exciting job, to break down the stalk of celery, shave each rib before slicing it in two lengthwise, and then slice those halves on an angle to create “celery diamonds” all of which would be used in the day’s special Herb Crusted Black Cod with Deconstructed Cauliflower Chowder. I’ve never in my life been more excited by celery. I mean, it almost seems weird to be excited by celery but here I am both excited and proud of my celery diamonds thanks to Chef Kishen. What I really enjoyed experiencing was the opportunity to mess up. I was told to cut diamonds and looked at him like he had four heads. I, of course, tried and was entirely underwhelmed by my result. I was a bit lost. He let me sit with the idea until I asked for his guidance. After asking, he showed me his technique and then let me run with it. I, like the rest of his kitchen staff, was allowed to think for myself, ask questions, and be better off for it. You know celery diamonds will now be a staple in my home—ha! That all said, Chef Kishen turned to me with a tongue-in-cheek secretive smile and said, “I told Sam he’d have to figure out the diamonds for  himself.” I'm telling you, it’s the perfect balance of focused seriousness and playfulness in that kitchen.

The preparation of the pancetta for the cauliflower chowder.

To achieve that perfect ratio of seriousness to playfulness, the kitchen team needs to be confident in its leader, and, as with most things, that means the chef de cuisine needs a plan. Have an understanding of everyone’s skill levels. Know the team’s strengths and weaknesses. Have the recipes in place. PAUSE. I know it sounds like a simple, easy interview question, but some of the most basic no-brainer questions yield the answers that truly distinguish one chef from another. The answers that these questions yield are the distinctions that have us as diners eager to try different restaurants. So with that, I asked the “go ahead and roll your eyes” question, ahem, “As a chef, when you approach making a new dish, what inspires you? And, what next steps do you take after you come up with your idea?”

Pictured above. AMISH CHICKEN BREAST with kale, sweet potato, gruyère späetzle, and cardamom jus | SEARED SCALLOPS broccoli rabe, carmelized parsnip, celeriac purée, bacon jam, basil oil | TOMATO FOCACCIA

Pictured above left. SALMON BELLY CRUDO passionfruit, salsa macha, thai basil, radish | Above right. AMISH CHICKEN BREAST kale, sweet potato, gruyère späetzle, cardamom jus

Many chefs toil over a concept. Say for the sake of argument, a chef is creating a dish using their favorite ingredient that they are stoked is now in back season. I’ve seen chefs create intricate illustrations of ideas with lines and arrows to annotations about flavor profiles. They lock in a master plan and then forage at a farmer’s market and bring back a haul that will bring that idea to life.

These differences in approach make both chefs as people more exciting and makes dining at their restaurants a unique experience. Chef Kishen’s approach to creating a new dish is different from what I described. Yes, he goes to those same farmer’s markets and visits his favorite stands—shout out to Halal Pastures, Norwich Meadows Farms, and The Rooted Family Farm, which I’m told has the best micro-greens.

“I’m a seasons guy. I go to the market and get excited because I see new stuff.”

- Chef de Cuisine Kishen Jagmohan

Pictured above right. SEARED SCALLOPS broccoli rabe, caramelized parsnip, celeriac purée, bacon jam, basil oil | Above left. RIVERPARK BURGER caramelized onions, comté cheese, pickles, herb aioli

Chef Kishen goes and seeks out the ingredients that excite him and, then along with his Sous Chef Sam, carries them back to the restaurant brainstorming all of the ways they can transform that ingredient into a masterful dish. Chef Kishen’s goal is to create cohesive dishes that celebrate those special ingredients. His method to execute this goal is to incorporate two to three cooking methods—puréed, seared, reduced—to each ingredient. That, or to use two to three parts of the ingredient, say pumpkin flesh and pumpkin seeds, in one dish. Add in some unexpected tropical notes as a special touch that resonates with him from his upbringing, “Where I come from, tropical flavors are fresh and stews”. Then finish that whole process by making the dish, have both the front of house and the kitchen team taste it, and have them provide feedback. Tweaks are made. And, now, that ingredient has been properly celebrated. These new dishes most often go out as specials. When well received, they earn their place of honor on the regular menu. 

"I do a lot of specials so my chefs don’t get bored. ’Oh my God, we get to do something new!’”

- Chef de Cuisine Kishen Jagmohan

I leave you with that quote from Chef Kishen because it’s so fitting. While every element of his kitchen starts with him, it also thoughtfully encompasses his team. Everyone matters. After all, this isn’t just a team, it’s the Riverpark family. Thank you to everyone at Riverpark for welcoming me into your family and for giving me an experience I will treasure forever.