Chef collaborative dinners are on the rise. Are four hands better than two?

"Their collaboration fit into the increasingly popular restaurant trend of guest chef and so-called "four-hands" dinners in which two chefs, often from different cities or countries, create a menu together. Tan grew up in Malaysia, in a Malay-Chinese household, and at 17, moved to Singapore where he trained in Japanese and French-influenced kitchens, cooking in Taiwan, Spain and Macao before opening his own Restaurant Born in 2022."

"Lin, best known to TV audiences for winning Season 12 of "Top Chef," grew up in Michigan after her parents brought her to the U.S. at just 3 months old from Guangdong, China. She cooked for the Detroit Lions before becoming Oprah Winfrey's private chef and finding her way to the kitchens of Wolfgang Puck and Michael Voltaggio before opening her own restaurants."

"Similar to Tan, whose parents operated a mixed rice stall in Malaysia, she applies fine-dining techniques to foods she grew up eating at her family's Chinese restaurant in Dearborn, Mich., and other dishes that reflect her heritage."

Chef Mei Lin of Beverly Hills' 88 Club hosted Singapore's Michelin-starred chef Zor Tan for a collaborative four-hands dinner, a growing restaurant trend where chefs from different regions create menus together. Both chefs share similar backgrounds: Tan grew up in Malaysia in a Malay-Chinese household and trained across multiple countries before opening Restaurant Born in Singapore in 2022. Lin, a Top Chef winner, grew up in Michigan after immigrating from Guangdong, China at three months old. She previously worked as a private chef for Oprah Winfrey and trained under Wolfgang Puck and Michael Voltaggio. Both chefs apply fine-dining techniques to heritage foods from their childhoods, creating dishes that honor their cultural roots while demonstrating sophisticated culinary expertise.

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