Flynn McGarry (born November 25, 1998)[2] is an American chef based in New York City.[2] He has been called the "Justin Bieber of food"[3] and is known for hosting dinner tasting restaurant Eureka in Los Angeles and New York City since he was 11.[2][1] He has staged at Eleven Madison Park, Alinea, Next,[2] Geranium,[4] and Maaemo.[3] McGarry describes his cooking as modern American cuisine.[1] He is known for being a young restaurant owner in NYC, opening the successful restaurant Gem at age 19.[5]

Flynn McGarry
Born (1998-11-25) November 25, 1998 (age 26)
Culinary career
Cooking styleNew American[1]
Current restaurant(s)
Websitewww.gem-nyc.com

Early life

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McGarry is the son of Meg and Will McGarry. His maternal grandfather was comedian Larry Daniels.[2][6]

McGarry grew interested in cooking after tiring of his parents' limited cooking repertoire and the takeout food they would frequently eat.[2][3] He cooked through Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook and learned cooking skills from YouTube videos and food blogs.[2][7] His parents built a kitchen in his bedroom to help him practice and installed a vacuum sealer, induction burners, a binchōtan grill and an immersion circulator.[2] McGarry started home-schooling in the seventh grade so that he could have more time to practice cooking.[2] When he was 12, McGarry started the US$160-a-head Eureka dining club in Los Angeles.[2][4]

Career

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At sixteen years old, McGarry finished his high school examinations and moved to New York City,[1] where he opened his own pop-up restaurant, Eureka NYC, in the West Village.[4] The only chef at Eureka NYC, McGarry cooks a 14-course tasting menu[8][9] inspired in part by his international travels.[3]

As of 2014, McGarry was writing an autobiography.[2] McGarry cites Daniel Humm, René Redzepi and Thomas Keller as cooking inspirations.[10][11]

In 2015, McGarry was named one of Time magazine's thirty most influential teens.[12] In 2016, McGarry presented a dish for a pressure test in the eighth season of Masterchef Australia.[13]

In early 2018 McGarry opened his first permanent restaurant, Gem in the Lower East Side.[14] Gem serves a $200, 12-15 course menu to a dining room of 12 guests over a period of 2 hours,[15] In June 2019, Gem closed for 3 months so McGarry could travel and get more inspirations.[16] He traveled to Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, Paris and Copenhagen.[17]

In 2018, a documentary film about McGarry, entitled Chef Flynn, premiered at SXSW.[18]

In 2021, he took part as a guest in an episode of the tenth season on MasterChef Italia.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Stone, Madeline (17 September 2015). "At 16, chef Flynn McGarry is living on his own in New York and running a one-man pop-up restaurant that's booked solid". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chocano, Carina (28 March 2014). "The Chef at 15". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Bobb, Brooke (9 September 2015). "Meet the Justin Bieber of Food: 16-Year-Old Chef Flynn McGarry". Vogue. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "16-year-old chef cooks up $160 14-course meals at new NYC supper club". CTV News. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  5. ^ Montag, Ali (2018-05-24). "This 19-year-old chef is running his own swanky New York City restaurant". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  6. ^ Barnes, Mike (23 February 2015). "Larry Daniels, Nightclub Comic of the 1950s and '60s, Dies at 92". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  7. ^ Noxon, Christopher (23 April 2012). "Prodigy". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  8. ^ Krader, Kate (31 August 2015). "16-Year-Old Chef Flynn McGarry to Open His First NYC Restaurant". Food & Wine. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  9. ^ Lacob, Jace (2013-05-23). "Meet Flynn McGarry: America's Next Great Chef is 14 Years Old". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  10. ^ Begley, Sarah (30 October 2015). "Teen Chef Flynn McGarry on Shake Shack and the Chef vs. Cook Debate". Time. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  11. ^ Satran, Rory (28 May 2014). "flynn mcgarry, america's next top teen chef". i-D. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  12. ^ Bradley, Hazel (15 June 2016). "Teen whiz cooks up a storm". The West Australian. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  13. ^ Stephenson, Alison (20 June 2016). "Meet Flynn McGarry, the 17-year-old Justin Bieber of food". News.au. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  14. ^ "At Gem, a Teen Wonder Plays in the Big Leagues". Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  15. ^ "Meet the 20-Year-Old Chef Serving a $200 Tasting Menu in New York City". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  16. ^ Richardson, Nikita (2019-06-11). "Flynn McGarry Will Close His LES Tasting Room for the Summer". Grub Street. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  17. ^ Richardson, Nikita (2019-09-18). "Flynn McGarry's Gem Reopens With an Emphasis on Simplicity". Grub Street. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  18. ^ Lodge, Guy (4 March 2018). "Film Review: 'Chef Flynn'". Variety. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Flynn McGarry, il "Justin Bieber della cucina" ospite di Masterchef Italia". Cookist (in Italian). 2021-01-20.

General references

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