It looks as though a new chef will be taking over the kitchen at popular South End speakeasy, Wink & Nod. The craft cocktail bar, which opened back in March, will welcome Bread & Salt Hospitality in September. Chef Josh Lewin (formerly of Beacon Hill Bistro) and business partner, Katrina Jazayeri, are behind the Boston-based pop-up, which has hosted events throughout the country.
Chef Josh Lewin (left) told BostInno that it was time for the pop-up to “settle down.” In our interview (below), he noted that “We are very excited to announce an upcoming partnership with Wink & Nod … and will be taking over the kitchen there as part of the bar’s ongoing culinary incubator program beginning September 1.” The kitchen is currently occupied by the Chefs Jeremy Kean and Philip Kruta of Whisk (Whisk at Wink & Nod).
We couldn’t be happier about beginning this chapter of our story with a full-time home.
Now that Bread & Salt will have a “full-time home,” Lewin adds that the speakeasy “is an ideal place to continue creating exciting food and begin building our program on a permanent basis.”
But before Lewin officially moves into Wink & Nod, you can experience the pop-up for yourself at their upcoming Masala Dhaba Gallery Dinner. The event still has tickets available and will take place Sunday, August 10 from 7 to 10 p.m. Here, Lewin tells BostInno what our readers can expect from his Bread and Salt pop-up event and what’s in-store for the future.
Why did you decide to leave Beacon Hill Bistro to launch Bread and Salt?
Bread and Salt has been in the works for some time. The brand was launched alongside my work at Beacon Hill Bistro through pop-up events offsite, as well as events right there in the restaurant. The idea itself is all about hospitality, the name is culled from a common Arabic phrase which translates roughly to “There is bread and salt between us” referring to the power of a shared meal to influence people, and maybe even change the world.
Does Bread and Salt hold pop-up events in other parts of the country besides Boston?
Bread and Salt has operated in New York City both for self produced events such as Persian New Year as well as being hosted at the James Beard House. We’ve cooked parties, both private and public, in San Francisco and Austin, and collaborated on a very traditional Indian supper club meal in Washington D.C.
But the majority of our impact has been and will remain here in Boston. We’ve been caught collaborating with groups like Soon Spoon and Opus Affair, the TAG dinner series and more; and we’ve produced lavish renditions of Persian celebrations, author meet and greets, Texas style BBQ’s as well as long-running series in off the wall spots like oil on canvas art galleries in the heart of Beacon Hill.
Any future events you’re particularly excited about?
As a matter of fact, yes. This event will mark the finale in a series of events that we have planned at the Sloane Merrill Gallery, which took place throughout June, July and August. Throughout that time I was also traveling with a pile of notebooks, my knives, and not much else working my way through a number of kitchens across the country, including some with Michelin Stars and some James Beard Award winners as well.
But it’s time to settle down, and we are very excited to announce an upcoming partnership with Wink and Nod, the South End craft cocktail bar that opened earlier this year. We will be taking over the kitchen there as part of the bar’s ongoing culinary incubator program beginning September 1st . We couldn’t be happier about beginning this chapter of our story with a full-time home, centrally located in one of our favorite neighborhoods. It is an ideal place to continue creating exciting food and begin building our program on a permanent basis.
BostInno has reached out to Wink & Nod and will be sure to update you as we learn more about this change.
Featured image via Melissa Ostrow; chef image via Facebook
