The table is set in front of a painting by Vincent Stracquadanio in live-in chef Bronwen ... [+]
A Brooklyn rental building is bringing together residents by offering a unique amenity — a live-in chef.
RXR Realty developer of 475 Clermont in Fort Greene partnered with supper club startup Resident to offer a communal dining experience to residents. As part of the program, the chef, who lives in the building, cooks one six course dinner with wine pairings for 10 of the building's residents per month. Tickets are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis, with each tenant in the 12-story, 363-unit building given the opportunity to attend at least one dinner each year.
The dinners are hosted by chefs Bronwen Kinzler-Britton and Meryl Feinstein within Kinzler-Britton’s one-bedroom apartment.
475 Clermont has 363 units.
Resident also puts on eight dinners per month that the general public can purchase tickets for and building occupants have exclusive access to private events from Resident at a reduced cost.
Brian Mommsen, the founder of Resident, said this isn't the first time the company has partnered with developers, but it is the first time they've facilitated a "culinary residency where chef is living in the unit and integrated into the community."
""She's built a relationship with her neighbors," Mommsen says.
Chefs Bronwen Kinzler-Britton and Meryl Feinstein have both cooked at Misi in Williamsburg.
Kinzler-Britton who, along with Feinstein, specializes in Italian cooking — Kinzler-Britton has worked as a pizzaiola at Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint and both she and Feinstein worked with award-winning chef Missy Robbins at Misi in Williamsburg — said she was initially unsure how opening up her home to diners would work, but she's been "pleasantly surprised" and has had "no issues with keeping my space private."
Dinners at 475 Clermont include fresh pasta.
"I loved working in restaurants," says Kinzler-Britton, who moved into 475 Clermont in early June. "Here, Meryl and I have full control of the menu, which is not something you would usually have at a restaurant unless you’re at the very top."
Menus include a lot of fresh pastas.
"I think it gives people this exclusive inside look and a level of engagement that we normally wouldn’t get as chefs," Feinstein says.
The building's kitchens feature cabinetry with a blue-grey finish and blackened steel pulls.
Whitney Arcaro, executive vice president at RXR Realty, said the program is a "differentiator" for the rental building.
"We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the response," Arcaro says.
