Michelin-Starred Chef Jeremiah Langhorne Joins The Franks’ Backyard Chef Series

Critically acclaimed D.C. chef and restaurateur Jeremiah Langhorne is scheduled to join Frankies Spuntino Group co-founders Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli May 16 at their Brooklyn restaurant for a group cooking event, marking his first collaboration with The Franks.

“Jeremiah is the only chef we’ve never worked with. He comes very highly recommended,” Castronovo told Eater about bringing Langhorne aboard for the “Backyard Chef Series,” a monthly get-together of industry professionals created in conjunction with reservation service, Resy. According to Castronovo, the goal is simple: have chefs they admire come cook with them in a garden setting that just so happens to feature an oil barrel grill and rotisserie. “We pretty much wanted to make it fun and communal,” Castronovo said.

Sponsor Whole Foods supplies the ingredients for each dinner, and the participating chefs compose 5-course meals featuring collaborative bites and dishes to share. Langhorne, who has been paired up with James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Marc Vetri for Tuesday’s shindig, told Eater he was looking forward to contributing “ember-roasted things” and “lots of vegetables” to the experience.

Langhorne noted that it’s tough recreating Dabney-style food — which is largely prepared via wood-fired hearth — outside his custom designed kitchen. “It often frustrates me … when all I’m going to have is a six-burner. It’s not going to be like the restaurant,” he said, adding that he prefers to cook on a grill or over an open flame when on the road.

The Franks have six more events lined up between now and October. (Next up: Michael White, co-founder of Altamarea Group, and Sqirl owner Jessica Koslow.) And while there’s nothing officially on the books for next year, Castronovo left the door open to rounding up a new crew of contributors in the future. “We’ve talked about doing series two,” he said.

Resy CEO and co-founder Ben Leventhal seemed keen on giving it another go — and perhaps even growing the franchise. “We would love to replicate this elsewhere,” Leventhal told Eater.