Chef Daphné Cheng Haute Cuisine

At 25 years old, Chef Daphne Cheng is a pioneer in haute, plant-based cuisine.
She started her own catering company shortly after graduating from culinary school with Alec Baldwin and Vera Wang among her clients.

She now has opened a very unique supperclub and culinary academy.
It is a vegetable heaven!
Located in Tribeca, the supper club offers a one-of-a-kind dining experience in an elegant atmosphere.
It is also a place where she will do cooking demonstrations and classes.
The spotlight of each dinner is on vegetables: 5 to 7 courses depending on the night.

Cheng’s food is inventive, beautiful, and delicious. She creates fresh and seasonal dishes with produce from a local farmer’s market.

Cheng’s food is inventive, beautiful, and delicious.
Her cuisine is vibrant and refined. She creates fresh and seasonal dishes with produce from a local farmer’s market.
I have been totally impressed and pleased with every dish I have tasted so far at Cheng’s. I consider myself a “foodie”, growing up in Paris and having had the chance to try so many fabulous meals over there. Still, I was blown away by Cheng’s “smoked carrot bisque”, her “baby French carrot confit with lentil gras and petits pois”, her “kale salad with chia granola raisins and harissa vinaigrette”,or the best dessert ever: “golden beet mousse with carrot and cardamom granola”.

Clémence von Mueffling: When did you start to cook and when did you realize that you wanted to make it a career?

Daphne Cheng: I started becoming very interested in food when I was about 14 and dreamed of becoming a chef since then.
I considered it more of a pipe dream and didn’t consider it as something that could become real until I had completed my first year of college. I had been studying nutritional science but knew I was heading in the wrong direction.
I took a year to figure out what I really wanted to do and ended up moving to New York to enroll in culinary school. I have zero regrets.

We host dinners and events several days a week for up to 30 guests who meet and bond over a shared love of food.

CvM: What is the concept of Suite ThreeOhSix?

DC: Suite ThreeOhSix is a supperclub intended as a testing ground for culinary experiments and a place to inspire community.
We host dinners and events several days a week for up to 30 guests who meet and bond over a shared love of food.

CvM: What are some of the favorite ingredients that you always have in your kitchen?

DC:  Coconut, chocolate, lemon, basil, sriracha

CvM: What is your beauty and wellness routine?

DC: I just recently started using coconut oil as moisturizer and it has seriously improved my skin. I eat well and ride my bike everywhere, but otherwise don’t have a strict diet and fitness regimen.

Adopt a positive attitude towards making healthy lifestyle changes.

CvM: What tips can you give our readers to have more healthy habits?

DC: Don’t ever feel guilty about anything you eat. The guilty feelings themselves are more harmful than any food could ever be.
Adopt a positive attitude towards making healthy lifestyle changes, and as long as you are taking steps towards healthful eating habits as a whole, a little bit of indulgence is okay every now and then.