Celebrity Chefs Flock to Former Home of Cheesy Celebrity Restaurant -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

A (highly idealized) view of the room where the demos are to be held. Photo courtesy Bon Appetit

The building that was the Hard Rock Café at 221 West 57th Street, having committed so many affronts to gastronomy over the years, is about to atone, temporarily. Bon Appétit is turning it into a “pop-up supper club and café” where, from October 25 to November 3, a series of celebrity chefs will do demos and book signings during lunchtime. The names should be familiar ones, ranging from TV chefs like Cat Cora and Giada De Laurentiis to established New York stars like Claudia Fleming and Will Goldfarb. Every day, the café area will feature a different signature dish from that day’s chef. Bon Appétit promises affordability, too: All the dishes at lunch will cost $10 or less.

The roster of chefs, and the times they’ll be there, are as follows:

October 25
Govind Armstrong, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.
Claudia Fleming, demo, 1:15 p.m.–1:45 p.m.

October 26
Pichet Ong, demo and signing, 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Michael Mina, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.

October 31
Cat Cora, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.; 1:15 p.m.–1:45 p.m.

November 1
Cat Cora, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.
Will Goldfarb, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.

November 2
Michael Richard, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.
Giada De Laurentiis, demo and signing, 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.