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Chef Akshay Bhardwaj, New York, NY (2026)

05/28/2026

100+ breads, 600° F, 4 hours. Welcome to the tandoor.

05/15/2026

POV: Tandoori breads station during dinner service at
The tandoor runs at over 600°F - there’s no room for error at this station.

05/04/2026

Visiting - The No. 1 Restaurant in 2023’s list 🇵🇪

A one of one. Many imitate, nobody replicates.

04/27/2026

Canapé opening bites at

Left - "Pani Puri” with potato stuffed inside a semolina puff, topped with a mango chili sphere

Middle - Beetroot tikki with a crisp beetroot glass, filled with whipped paneer and topped with a candy cane beet

Right - Upma Vada or Seasonal Samosa

04/24/2026

Visiting Maido- the Number 1 Restaurant in the 2025 restaurant list 🇵🇪 🇯🇵

04/22/2026

Some end of winter/early spring dishes at

1- Asparagus Saag - mustard green, spinach, & kale sauce topped with sauteed ramps and white asparagus

2- Sunchoke Korma- roasted sunchokes, almond korma sauce, sunchoke tuille, watermelon radish

3- Squash Moilee for the tasting menu- Row 7 seeds squash with a crispy rice cake (rice, ghee, curry leaf, lime zest, and coconut milk), pumpkin seeds, tamarind chutney, ginger limes, and coconut turmeric & curry leaf sauce

04/18/2026

The night before my stage started in SF, I got to visit my former cook who is now a sous chef at - the first 15 minutes of my night were spent taking videos of Kush like a proud parent 😂

To see someone start their career in front of your eyes and grow into both a great cook and person is one of the best feelings in this industry, and Kush checks both boxes easily. Every great chef has a lineage of cooks who came through their kitchen - it’s my greatest accomplishment watching them move on to fantastic restaurants, and Angler certainly is one.

The meal was excellent, the team felt like family, and the only downside was dining solo so I couldn’t order more 😂

04/16/2026

Day 1 & 2 in Lima — visited two great restaurants: .pe by Chef and by Chef .contraste . Both were wonderful introductions to the cuisine of this country, as Lima has become a hotbed for some of the best restaurants in the world.
Stay tuned for our meals at Maido, Central, and Kjolle - all regarded as top 10 restaurants by

03/30/2026

Last month, I spent a week staging at Atelier Crenn.
The timing was interesting, as our industry began having more open conversations around staging - and where the line exists between learning and exploitation.
My experience there was a reminder of what a great kitchen can be:

A team of highly skilled cooks pushing each other with focus, precision, and respect. No wasted movement, no reliance on hierarchy to maintain standards - just a shared commitment to the craft.

What stood out most: the calm. Even through intense prep and service, there were no raised voices, no chaos - just discipline, communication, and professionalism.

I left exhausted, but more importantly, inspired. Grateful to the entire team for the opportunity to learn 🙏🏽

03/23/2026

Spring on a plate- Tandoor roasted lamb chops with sugar snap pea pureé and fava beans

03/14/2026

Cool full-circle moment. Last week our restaurant got a shoutout on the . Growing up, every kid in town knew our car because of the sticker on the back. My mom and I listened to that show every single morning on the drive to school (s/o phone taps).

To go from being that kid in the passenger seat… to hearing someone talk about a meal at our restaurant on the same show… is pretty surreal.

Cooking really is a universal language. It brings people from all walks of life together, even if it's just for a few hours in a dining room. And honestly, that feeling of making people happy through food never gets old.

Swipe to see the Z100 sticker that started it all.

Thanks for the love

02/27/2026

A final bite from our tasting menu.

Banana–Biscoff Halwa
Carrot Halwa bonbon

Handcrafted by Junoon alum Jesse Koones of .

A new flavor, every month

02/11/2026

Sneak peek at our Valentine’s Day special menu ❤️
"Beetroot Chaat" - terrine of golden beets marinated in white pepper & red beets with coriander, whipped paneer & goat cheese, crispy sev & walnuts, finished with tamarind, mint & beet chutneys
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02/10/2026

Sneak peek at our Valentine’s Day special menu ❤️
"Beetroot Chaat" - terrine of golden beets marinated in white pepper & red beets with coriander, whipped paneer & goat cheese, crispy sev & walnuts, finished with tamarind, mint & beet chutneys

01/20/2026

and I went to church to celebrate our one-year anniversary 🙏🏽🍽️ 🐟

Huge appreciation to the entire team at for the incredible food, wine, hospitality, and for letting us peek behind the curtain with a kitchen tour- special thanks to for making that happen

As for the anniversary itself, I’m grateful for so much more than a night like this: post-midnight cooking sessions (I’m the sous, Allison is the head chef), dancing in the kitchen after work, finding random handwritten love notes on bounty paper towels, spontaneous-ish 72-hour trips, and constantly pushing but nurturing each other to be better.

Here’s to many more years of growing, cooking, and building together. Thank you, Tanner ❤️ 🦒

01/04/2026

November-December 💩
As I get older, I realize how lucky I am to have family, friends, and colleagues who make life truly special. In hospitality, it’s easy to miss important moments-we work the holidays and Friday and Saturday nights, and in my 20s I missed what felt like 98% of birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings. Those are moments you don’t get back.
Cooking has truly saved my life, so I don’t live with regrets-but one of my main goals this year was to be present for more of the people who have always shown up for me.

The past year had its challenges, but it also brought balance, perspective, and a lot of gratitude. If this year was tough for you, keep going-things do get better when you keep putting the work in. Anyways, here’s the dump: 1-2: Annual Thanksgiving weekend reunion with C-Town’s finest 3-4: birthday dinner at .mi - felt like being welcomed into a family home; incredible hospitality, and yes, copious amounts of uni, roe, and wagyu helped 5-6: delivered on the hype and then some 7: More ink from my brother - quickly becoming a favorite annual tradition 8: and I cooking family dinners and giving mom and dad the night off 9: A famed Masamoto blade gifted by Allison, with help from the team at .ada.li ❤️ 10: Snowy Sunday at  11: Care package from courtesy of  12–13: Thanksgiving family meal

12/23/2025

3rd course of our Journey Through India tasting menu takes us to Punjab with our "Baingan Bharta": fire-roasted eggplant and tomato, slowly mashed and tempered with warm spices, then charcoal-smoked à la minute. Stuffed into a crisp pao, finished with red chili aioli and cranberry chutney.
We pour a tableside hot brew of spiced aromatics, releasing a cloud of smoke that deepens the dish’s warmth and aroma
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12/17/2025

I’ve always said I’ve been spoiled by Junoon - not just by the food, but by having great cocktails ten steps away from the kitchen. It was never a question if would open a great bar, but when.

This week, that vision became - a gorgeous, intimate space with live music, technically precise and deeply flavorful cocktails, and soulful complimentary bites.

I’m grateful to be part of this project alongside an exceptional team: .essani and working the bar with Hemant, a focused culinary program led by , guidance from , and desserts by . What makes this even more special is Hemant’s commitment to paying it forward - bringing the next generation of Indian mixologists to the forefront by opening this bar alongside Sahil and Som.

What makes this project especially meaningful to me goes back to 2021. While reopening Junoon, Hemant and I were taking the train back from a vendor tasting when… despite having worked together since 2013, I finally heard his full life story. It was a truly Bollywood-esque journey: coming to this country from India with a grand vision and passion for mixology, nearly giving up and moving back home after being defeated by bad actors in the industry… and now, opening Room 207.

From the brink of leaving forever to creating something this special, Hemant embodies what the American dream should be. Room 207 deserves all the praise - and I’m grateful to play even a small role in this beautiful project. Hope to see you all there. Cheers 🥂❤️
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12/11/2025

Our "Journey Through India" tasting menu at opens with four vegetarian bites from four states - each shaped by its vastly different climate, terrain, and traditions.
Course 1: "Saag Rota" | Rajasthan
India’s largest state by land and one of its driest climate. Grains like millet and chickpea flourish where rice does not. We serve a crisp missi roti (chickpea flour bread) with a saag purée of kale, mustard greens, and spinach, finished with shaved truffles, fresh red sorrel, and nasturtium.
Course 2: "Uttapam Two Ways" | Tamil Nadu
From the Southern land of dosas and fermented rice-lentil batters. One uttapam gets a dusting of gunpowder (a roasted lentil-chili blend mixed with ghee) and topped with pickled radish and crispy curry leaf, the second is topped with coconut chutney, seaweed caviar, and finger lime
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11/26/2025

October 💩
📸 1-9 - We hosted our second annual Chefs for a Cause dinner for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. My incredibly talented friends- Jeff Kim of Nudibranch, Eric Choi of C as in Charlie, Gustavo Tzoc repping Junoon, and Romina Peixito of Sweet Graffiti- joined me at our host Adi Vamshi's restaurant, Ishq.
 Huge thank you to all the guests, many of whom were friends, family, and MAW Junior Board members, for coming out to support. We doubled our ticket sales in year two and completely sold out the venue.

I told the chefs we were essentially doing a “Beard House Dinner”: each chef responsible for one course, firing 70 individual plates per course- meaning 350 plates executed in about 90 minutes. Between welcome cocktails, wine pairings, and the pacing of service, the amount of prep, organization, and coordination required was insane. I learned a ton putting all those moving parts together and am already excited to make next year even bigger and better. Special thanks to for the seating chart wizardry, helping with ticket sales and marketing , and the late-night brainstorming sessions.

📸 9-10- Celebrating and David - reuniting with old friends gave my heart a smile.

📸 11-12- wall of fame with and Chef's night with

📸 13- BTS with filming our Butter Chicken & Naan recipe video.

11/21/2025

Last month we rolled out our Journey Through India Chef’s Tasting Menu - two months of reps, refinement, and training to dial in the flavors and the storytelling.

Eight dishes from eight states, each one built to show just how wide the spectrum of Indian cuisine really is:
Fermented batters, coastal produce, bold kebabs, smoke and spice, dry-aging, foraged aromatics...all the things we love cooking with.

Here are the opening bites that set the tone for the journey ahead: • Pani Puri - semolina shell, spiced potato, mango-jaljeera sphere • Samosa - fig + goat cheese • Dhokla - finished with our "jam grape"chutney

11/03/2025

96 hours in London📍
1-
2/3-
4/5- Family
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8- My favorite human ❤️🦒

10/29/2025

30th Anniversary Dinner August 2025 - This meal was a dream set in reality. A moment suspended in time.
Besides the perfect technique, precise presentation, and storytelling that came through on every plate, what struck me most was how everyone at The Fat Duck seemed completely invested - fully aligned in the vision, purpose, and direction.
It felt serendipitous that their menu featured a “map” alongside the written courses, since we were about three months into developing our own "Journey Through India" menu at Junoon with a table-side map. At that point, I was having second thoughts about our map concept, worrying it might come across as gimmicky. But seeing The Fat Duck’s flawless ex*****on of storytelling reaffirmed everything.
It reminded me that when an entire team moves with shared intention, even the most ambitious ideas can feel effortless.
Swipe ➡️ (dishes are mostly in order as they came out) Watch the last slide that features the WILDEST Vodka Lime Soda cocktail
1- Crab Ice Cream with the Map of "Hestonland"!!!
2- Beetroot Macaroon - aerated beetroot & horseradish
3&4- “Breakfast in a Bowl” (they give a magnifying glass to inspect everything)
5&6- “Beside the Sea” - Crab and Passion Fruit- The Sand and Foam are reinforced with kombu and mushrooms for the ocean flavor. There was Halibut cured in grapefruit and mirin. **The headphones had sounds on a beach like a seagull and waves. **
7- “Walk in the Woods” - The smoke gave a smell of a forest when you inhaled. The plate had black truffles, beetroot, oak, and…. worms
8- Lamb with a RIDICULOUSLY tasty lamb consume gelee, cucumber, & a smoked caviar lamb sauce l sourdough and butter
9- The most deceiving dish of the night - Cheese seimfredo with a graham cracker stuffing. Figs made into a fig leaf tuille, Freeze dried cherries and grapes.
10&11- Desserts (was too tipsy to remember taking notes)
12-Mini replica of the restaurant to unlock the take home gift bag of sweets & chocolates
13- Vodka Lime Soda in Liquid Nitrogen

Chef Akshay Bhardwaj