Nicole Gajadhar

The Philosophy Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Gajadhar began a culinary journey that would eventually center her in New York City kitchens, but her way of speaking about food has remained grounded in something elemental: care. Her language is less about performance than about responsibility, about feeding people well and creating the kind of atmosphere where a meal becomes a shared memory rather than a passing transaction. The moment she chose cooking as a career carried the clarity of a decisive turn. It is a sentence with the crispness of a line drawn in the sand, and her work since then reflects that same sense of direction. There is intention in the way she cooks and in the way she frames the role of a chef—less as a solitary author than as a maker of moments for others. That outlook extends beyond the pass and into the kitchen around her. “The friendships built and the camaraderie amongst the teams in the kitchen are the best part of it.” In that view, the experience of dining is the human current that powers it. The plate is only the visible part of a larger effort, one shaped by trust, rhythm, and the energy of people working side by side.

In Practice Gajadhar’s career has unfolded across some of New York’s most recognizable rooms. In 2019, she was chef at Saxon + Parole. By 2021, she was chef at The Loyal in New York City, a period she describes with a strong sense of place and purpose: “I loved working in the neighborhood I’ve lived in for seventeen years as it truly felt like I was cooking for my community during the pandemic.” The comment captures both the intimacy and the weight of that moment, when the act of cooking carried a deeper social resonance. At the NoHo venue she now leads, her specialty was identified in 2025 as Focused French cuisine, and the menu lives up to that framing with a studied ease. Its indulgent-yet-simple character comes through in dishes that pair richness with clarity, luxury with recognizability. In 2022, Cured Hamachi with Oroblanco, Avocado, Ponzu, and Black Sesame Oil was a featured dish. That same year, Grilled Maitake Mushroom appeared with Potato Purée, Sunchoke Chips, and Burgundy Truffle. The menu also featured a Twice-Baked Potato with Creme Fraîche, Chives, and Osetra Caviar in 2022, while The N˚9 Burger brought Dry-Aged Beef, Comté, Burgundy Onions, Black Garlic Aïoli, Dijon Mustard, a Sesame Bun, French Fries, and Pickles into the same satisfying frame. Together, these dishes sketch a chef who understands the pleasures of contrast and familiarity: caviar against potato, truffle against mushroom, Dry-Aged Beef Comté and Burgundy Onions.

In Their Words Gajadhar speaks about cooking as an act of making things for other people—food, experiences, memories. The idea opens the work beyond technique, while keeping it rooted in generosity. Her remarks about teams reveal another dimension of the kitchen: a place where friendships are formed and camaraderie gives service its pulse. And when she speaks of cooking in a neighborhood she had lived in for seventeen years during the pandemic, the word community feels earned rather than decorative. It is a reminder that, for Gajadhar, cooking is never only about the menu; it is about the people who gather around it.

Signature

Nicole's signature dishes include Cured Hamachi, Oroblanco, Avocado, Ponzu, Black Sesame Oil and Twice-Baked Potato, Creme Fraîche, Chives, and Osetra Caviar.