Chef Spotlight: Chef Akhtar Nawab of ALTA CALIDAD in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn & CookUnity All Star Chef

Akhtar Nawab is chef and owner of Alta Calidad in New York, Otra Vez in New Orleans, and Prather's on the Alley in Washington, DC. He is also founding partner and CEO of Hospitality HQ (HHQ), a creative consulting and management group which offers bespoke solutions for culinary-driven concepts across the country, ranging from fast-casual food halls to fine dining establishments.

Nawab's 'less-is-more' style of cooking has earned him critical praise throughout the years, beginning with his experience in the kitchen at acclaimed restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Craftbar and Craft, the latter of which received three stars from The New York Times and won the James Beard Foundation's "Best New Restaurant" Award during Nawab's tenure. Nawab received StarChef's "Rising Star Chef" award while serving as executive chef of East Village gastropub The E.U., before striking out on his own as chef/partner in Elettaria in 2008. Shortly thereafter, he found himself gravitating towards Mexican cuisine and took the helm at popular NYC hotspot La Esquina. In 2017, Nawab opened his innovative Mexican restaurant Alta Calidad in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, which earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating in 2018 and 2019 and continues to thrive as a neighborhood mainstay. Nawab and his business partner Michael Wetherbee launched Hospitality HQ in 2019, which quickly grew into one of the country's premier food hall management firms with properties in Omaha, NE (Inner Rail Food Hall), Chicago, IL (Dr. Murphy's Food Hall), Houston, TX (Lyric Market, opening December 2020), Portland, ME (Rock Row, opening 2022) and more projects soon to be announced.

Nawab has been featured in various publications including Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, USA Today and Eater, and has appeared on NBC's TODAY Show, CBS This Morning Saturday, PBS' "Simply Ming," as well as Food Network's "Iron Chef America," "Worst Cooks in America," and as a regular judge on "Beat Bobby Flay". He has also been featured in the acclaimed cookbook Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs (Phaidon, 2009) and J'aime New York: 150 Culinary Destinations for Food Lovers (Ducasse Books, 2012), and will release his first cookbook, Good For You: Bold Flavors with Benefits with Chronicle Books in August 2020. Good For You embodies Nawab's passion for healthful, delicious cuisine, showcasing his trusted repertoire of wholesome recipes influenced by international flavors and refined by decades of professional training.

Chef Akhtar Nawab has also partnered with CookUnity, the first chef-to-consumer platform founded by Mateo Marietti that connects a diverse group of talented chefs with food lovers to create an elevated at-home dining experience. A robust and ever-changing menu of over 250 meals and sides represents the handcrafted work of more than 30 talented chefs focused on ingredient-driven flavor and culinary technique. Through a weekly subscription, consumers can select from a wide array of fully prepared dishes that feature sustainably-sourced proteins and seasonal produce. Chef Akhtar Nawab is part of CookUnity's Creators Club which launched in July. The Creators Club is a new menu offering from New York City's top culinary icons and innovators. Adding to an already diverse team of independent chefs, Creators Club directly connects Michelin Star and Master restaurant chefs with CookUnity customers.

CookUnity is the future of food, creating a new way for chefs to diversify and expand their business. Especially in a time when restaurants have been forced to close and/or reopen at minimal capacity, CookUnity has extended an opportunity for these chefs and their teams to survive, while also offering consumers convenience and access to elevated, chef-quality dishes in the comfort of their homes that doesn't require cooking, delivery charges, or defrosting.

Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure in interviewing Chef Akhtar Nawab for our "Chef Spotlight" feature.

What was your earliest interest in cooking?

My mom, who is from Northern India, is an absolutely amazing cook. I loved spending time in the kitchen with her as a kid, initially without any intention of it becoming my career, but just because it was so lighthearted and freeing. She'd cook all day and make everything by hand, and the lessons I learned from her still stick with me today: from how to coax the most flavors from your spices (toast them) to how to season (always pinch with your fingers), the best way to make rice (soak it for a couple of hours before cooking) and so much more.

Who were some of your career mentors?

1. My mom

2. Chef Loretta Keller who took me under her wing when I was fresh out of culinary school and starting out in San Francisco. Loretta remains a good friend today and continues to inspire me with her love of learning and traveling to try new cuisines

3. Chef Tom Colicchio, who I worked under at Gramercy Tavern when I first landed in NYC. Under Tom, I learned so much about food and cooking -- about seasonality, local farmers, and how to coax the most flavor from the simplest ingredients

What culinary styles have influenced your career?

Over the dozen or so years since my beginning at Gramercy Tavern, I have cooked nearly every kind of food at every kind of restaurant: inspired Italian at Craft and Craftbar; modern Indian at my first solo project, Elettaria; nutrition-forward fast-casual at Indie Fresh; my own offbeat brand of innovative Mexican cuisine at my restaurants Alta Calidad in Brooklyn and Otra Vez in New Orleans; and more refined seasonal American fare at my restaurant Prather's on the Alley in Washington, D.C.

What do you consider the most distinguishing features of your work as a chef?

Honestly, I feel that my culinary POV is so unique because of the wide range of professional experience I've been lucky to have throughout my career. As I've grown older and put more of a focus on my health and eating nutritiously, I've taken my training from Indie Fresh and applied it to all of the cuisines I cook. This deep knowledge of cross-cultural ingredients and techniques has allowed me to develop recipes that are both intensely delicious and profoundly healthful. I actually just published my first cookbook, Good For You: Bold Flavors with Benefits (Chronicle Books, August 2020) which encompasses my trusted repertoire of recipes I love to serve and eat, which has significant overlap with the delicious dishes I serve through CookUnity.

What is your favorite meal or meals?
I love tacos - honestly, I have trouble going a day without one at this point in my life! I love the Chicken Tinga we serve at my restaurant Alta Calidad in Prospect Heights, which we also offer through CookUnity. I'll often have it for breakfast/lunch with half a sliced avocado and a couple of eggs. My kitchen staff always makes fun of me because I have it all the time, but I never get tired of it!

Tell me a little bit about your restaurant for our readers.

Alta Calidad is a little neighborhood restaurant in Prospect Heights serving innovative Mexican cuisine in a casual, vibrant setting. We're currently offering delivery and contactless pickup in addition to limited indoor seating, and welcome guests to come enjoy our ample outdoor dining space (we just invested in outdoor heaters for our two spacious patios!)

You can follow Akhtar Nawab on Instagram @chefakhtar

Alta Calidad is located at 552 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238. For more information, please visit: https://altacalidadbk.com/ or call 718.622.1111.

For more information on CookUnity, please visit https://www.cookunity.com/.

Photo Credit: Jessica Ebelhar