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Chef Elise Kornack is a veteran of some of New York’s most acclaimed kitchens, including April Bloomfield’s Spotted Pig and Marcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit (now helmed by Emma Bengtsson. But after working with some very big names, Kornack decided to go small. In 2013, she and Anna Hieronimus (wife and sole supporting staff) opened Take Root, a 750-square foot, 12-seat tasting menu destination in Brooklyn. Their fare reflected their philosophy: mindful dining using local ingredients, careful preparation, but without pretension (the tasting menu cost $125, a steal compared to New York standards). Out of her galley-sized kitchen, Kornack plated far-reaching flavors, from sweetbreads with shaved squash to chocolate mousse with sour honey powder. In return, critics showered her with praise: Kornack landed on Forbes Magazine’s and Zagat’s “30 Under 30” lists; was a “James Beard Rising Star Chef” semifinalist for the last three years running; and saw Take Root earn a Michelin star.But even the brightest stars can burn out (and singe a chef’s sanity)—which is why Kornack decided to close the restaurant before that happened, ending on a high note: “When you feel like you’re doing your best, when your space looks the best, and your food tastes the best, that’s when you should stop.” She and her wife are now taking root in richer soil: the Catskills, where she hinted to us, she’s partnering with a nearby farm to open a farm-to-table restaurant. The recipes Kornack made for Panna are fresh yet familiar. They include some childhood favorites like Beef Braciole, her grandmother’s specialty, stuffed with breadcrumbs and braised with tomato-wine sauce. You’ll melt for her Cinnamon Semifreddo, an Italian frozen custard, made sans ice cream machine and topped with bourbon-macerated figs; the silkiest sunchoke soup, drizzled with aromatic ginger oil; a giant, crispy rice pancake served with greens and a fried egg; charred cabbage wedges with almond vinaigrette; and parsnip cake (similar to carrot cake) brightened with apple compote. Luckily, you don’t have to churn it out all at once for a multi-course tasting menu like Kornack can—but you should take her skills to your kitchen, and enjoy each stunning dish, bite by bite.

Chef Sohui Kim thinks truffle oil is overrated. “I firmly believe that salt, a pinch of sugar and/or a splash of rice wine vinegar can always save the day,” she says. And that may very well be true—as long as you know how to wield those ingredients like Kim can. Sweet-salty-spicy flavors perk up cuisine from South Korea, her birthplace, and they now electrify the food at The Good Fork and Insa, the two Brooklyn restaurants she runs with her husband, Ben Schneider.But gochujang and kimchi aren't the only stars. On The Good Fork menu, fried calamari with fra diavolo and Parmesan are just below her savory, teriyaki-drizzled scallion pancake. It’s eclectic and fresh, but comfortably mom-and-pop cuisine. In The Good Fork Cookbook, Chef Kim describes her food as “traditional dishes heightened by a global pantry; classics, with just enough of a twist to make them new again.” It’s the kind of food that builds a following, so much so that after Hurricane Sandy damaged their restaurant, Kim was able to crowdsource $50K to rebuild.That kind of tenacity is what put Kim on the culinary track in the first place: after graduating from ICE, she secured an externship at Blue Hill under Chefs Dan Barber and Michael Anthony. They tried to persuade her to move upstate as they opened Blue Hill at Stone Barns, but the buzz of the West Village sounded more appealing, so she moved on to work with Anita Lo at Annisa.Kim brings her professional chops to Panna, but with a warm, homespun touch that's evident in the loving way she pleats pork dumplings (the ones that beat Bobby Flay's in a throwdown). Watch how she bundles veal shanks with butcher’s twine to make Osso Buco, the dish her husband cooked to woo her while they were dating. Other dishes taste totally familiar, but draw from the “global pantry” that defines Kim's style: pan-seared chicken breasts, bathed in a butter sauce funkified by Chinese fermented black beans, or a lentil salad specked with piquillos, a sweet Spanish chile. So, whether you’ve got flavor wanderlust or need a dose of edible comfort, Kim’s cuisine will satisfy and leave you hungry for more.Sohui's Restaurants:Insa (Brooklyn, NY)The Good Fork (Brooklyn, NY)Sohui's Book:The Good Fork Cookbook (2016)

Let there be no mistake—Chef Erik Ramirez makes a mean Pollo a la Brasa, ceviche, and Lomo Saltado. But when he puts ponzu and daikon in that ceviche, or bacon and banana in his quinoa, the message is clear: there’s more to Peruvian cuisine than meets the eye. At Ramirez’s Michelin-starred Brooklyn restaurant, Llama Inn, the spotlight is on flavor, and he’ll go great lengths to achieve it—like growing huacatay, an Andean herb, right on Llama Inn’s rooftop to make a lapping-good green sauce for roast chicken. Meanwhile, the charred octopus ceviche gets a sprinkling of togarashi.Wait. Japanese chile in ceviche? That’s not Peruvian, that’s fusion. But Ramirez will tell you that cultural combinations are fluid in Peru, where there are even specialized terms for them: “Chifa” to describe Chinese-Peruvian and “Nikkei” for Japanese-Peruvian. You can probably taste the glossy umami depth of Chinese oyster sauce in the Lomo Saltado, and Ramirez serves it with scallion pancakes so diners can build their own Lomo "tacos."Ramirez hasn’t always been this in tune with his Peruvian palate. Having been raised in New Jersey on his mother’s traditional arroz con pollo and rich stews, he wanted to widen his horizons when he started his culinary career in NYC and sought out a ticket to another country’s kitchen. He developed classic French and American skillsets at Eleven Madison Park and Irving Mill, respectively, which shine as you watch him swiftly slice an onion or emulsify sauces to silky perfection.But a trip to Peru shed new light on the food he'd grown up eating when a mind-blowing ceviche changed everything: “I was just like, wow...I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing out on for 28 years,” he recalls.Outside Llama Inn, the backdrop of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway helps set the pace for his food: dynamic, never stagnant. “It’s New York cooking with a Peruvian attitude and heartbeat,” he says. “I knew it was going to translate because the flavor profiles of Peruvian cuisine are delicious. Delicious is delicious no matter what continent you are on.” That’s certainly the case in the dishes Ramirez has made for Panna using ingredients that may raise eyebrows, but which make total sense in your mouth. Pollo a la Brasa, an iconic Peruvian dish, carries a funky whop of Chinese black bean paste in the marinade; carapulcra, an indigenous pork mole features papas secas, freeze-dried potatoes that almost look like pasta. Last but not least, there’s ceviche, swimming in a gingery, vegetal “Leche de Tigre” that will inspire an “Aha!” moment in your mouth.Once you source a few key, special ingredients, the prep is simple, the flavors original yet grounded. His dishes have something for everyone: If you already love Peruvian food, these recipes will shake up your favorites with New York swagger. And if you’re new to Peru? You’re in for a delicious ride.Erik's Restaurant:Llama Inn (Brooklyn, NY)