Pier 57

Mentorship Over Clicks as Celebrity Chefs Spotlight Rising Talent in NYC | Eater NY

"Earlier this summer, the James Beard Foundation’s Platform space at Pier 57 hosted a mentorship-driven live showcase of Favorite Chef, where Carla Hall, Andrew Zimmern, and Aarón Sánchez cooked shoulder-to-shoulder with little-known cooks selected from nearly 92,000 applicants. The atmosphere prioritized cultural authenticity and fundamentals over social-media gloss: Hall positioned herself as “an open book,” Sánchez hammered technique and even used the Platform stage to rail against follower culture (“Just because you have a shitload of a following doesn’t mean your damn chicken tastes better than anybody else’s”), and Zimmern pushed doing more with less in line with his sustainability stance. Far from the usual glossy food competition, the Platform kitchen became a place to build skills over clicks and celebrate roots, with 2025 winner Derek Astorino cooking alongside Hall and critics’ picks Christian Padilla, Shawnny Roman, and Camille Napolitano McDowell each taking a turn at the stoves." - Alexis Benveniste