Pop-up dinner at Time Out Boston attracts guests from all over the world

What do you get when you bring together Boston chef Tim Cushman, a James Beard Award winner with a talent for preparing gorgeous Japanese dishes, with South African chef John van Zyl, chef and owner of The Melting Pot at Time Out Market in Cape Town, a genius of global cuisine who focuses on his region’s magnificent seafood?

A multicultural mix of fine dining and street food, including dishes such as flatfish sashimi with fermented black bean dressing and a Cape Malay fish taco with curry emulsion, these are just two of the dishes on an eight-course menu that showcases the pair’s combined talents, combining their creativity and signature cuisine.

The two were brought together by Time Out Market as part of the upscale food hall operator’s Chefs On Tour series. This dinner series, which takes place in Boston on August 20, was launched last year to bring together standout stars from Time Out’s group of nine food halls for once-in-a-lifetime tasting experiences.

“Each Time Out Market… is home to incredible culinary talent – ​​each one so unique, a true expression of the city it is in,” says Michael Minichello, GM of Time Out Market Boston. “We created Chefs On Tour to introduce our guests to award-winning chefs and incredible food from our markets around the world, while allowing local chefs to collaborate with other likeminded chefs. It’s an inspiring experience within a unique community of chefs that only Time Out Market can offer.”

For the first dinner in winter 2023, chef Stephen Gillanders of Time Out Market Chicago traveled first to Time Out Market in Lisbon and then to Dubai to work with chefs in both cities. The impromptu celebration has since visited New York, Chicago, Montreal and Cape Town, and dinners are expected to continue to be held quarterly across the chain. At the Boston event, which costs $150 for the eight courses and drink pairings, guests will be seated at a large communal table where chefs will introduce themselves and present their menu.

Cushman and van Zyl worked closely together to create plates that showcase their individual styles and techniques in the kitchen, while creating unique specialties that bring the taste of Cape Town to Boston.

“We started with a very open conversation,” Chef Cushman told me via email. “We were just bouncing ideas around. He has a seafood restaurant and since we’re in New England, we thought that would be a great theme for dinner. We found that we have similar approaches in terms of using ingredients from all over the world, but with a local focus.”

Each chef prepares four dishes to highlight the similarities while also highlighting the differences. “Since we each prepare four dishes of the eight-course menu, we wanted to make sure there was no overlap in flavors and each course was a new dining experience for guests,” says Cushman, whose area restaurants offer a range of concepts from fine dining to fast casual: o ya, Hojoko Japanese Tavern, Bianca Woodfire Kitchen & Bar, Mr. Roni Cup’s Roman-Style Pizza, and Gogo Ya and Ms. Cluck’s Deluxe Chicken & Dumplings (the last two can be found at Time Out Market Boston).

Cushman says he’s excited about the collaboration. “I’m looking forward to trying all of Chef John’s dishes,” he says. “When I read his menus, I thought, ‘This sounds really good. This is a great idea.’ I’m really excited about everything. It’s fun to try dishes you’ve never tried before.”

Van Zyl, for his part, hosted chef Paul Toussaint, who cooks Haitian home cooking at Montreal Time Out, and said he learned a lot from the experience. “(Toussaint) is a great chef and I love that he cooks Afro-Caribbean food while staying true to his roots,” he wrote. “I love Paul’s passion for food, he is always curious, smells and tastes everything. He has a big personality and brings a lot of energy to the room. He has inspired me a lot in a very short time.”

A limited number of tickets are available for the event in Boston HERE.