Chef’s Lab at Refettorio Harlem
39 w 119th Street | New York, NY 10026 I Inside the Emanuel AME Church
Chef’s Lab x Summer Jam
JULY 27, 2026
(6:00 pm VIP) | 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
All Ticket Proceeds Support Free Food at Refettorio Harlem
“Nourish” General Admission ($120 pp)
6:30 pm
Chef's Lab x Summer Jam brings the hip hop hit factory to Harlem for one night only.
“Creators” VIP ($180 pp)
6:00 pm
Join the Chefs and Event Organizers for a lively pre-event discussion and toast.
“Party Thrower” ($70 pp)
5:00 pm
Join us in throwing this party, and serve with the front or back of house teams.
About the Evening
July 27th at 6:30pm (VIP Reception at 6pm)
If you were at Free Food's Community Dinner on July 1st, you already know what's about to go down.
The Harlem Summer Jam that only a Chef’s Lab can rock. Meet great people. Sing along with Jamal Peoples and co performing your favorite 90’s hip hop classics while a delicious multi course meal.
Chef Fulmore brings his South Bronx flavors and a story-first approach to the plate — he's been feeding Harlem for years, from his annual community Thanksgiving to recurring cookouts near 125th.
Chef Nduvo Salaam, is a NY Times featured alumnus of Alexander Smalls dinner party, and 10 Cubed on the 100th Floor of Central Park Tower.
Wine provided by Flying Whale Wines and its founder Maba Ba.
Menu TBA.
The Chef's Lab is an opportunity to showcase the mission and raise support for Free Food at Refettorio Harlem's three course dinners with dignity program — currently serving 700 meals weekly, addressing food insecurity, food waste, and more importantly social isolation. The program also runs a culinary training initiative for justice-impacted individuals, providing professional kitchen skills and a pathway to meaningful employment in the food industry. Free Food at Refettorio Harlem was recently featured in the New York Times and presented on the floor of the United States House by Rep. Jim McGovern.
Free Food at Refettorio Harlem is located inside the historic Emanuel AME Church, 39 West 119th St, New York, NY
Guest Chefs
Chef Levar Fulmore - Free Food/Bronx CookSpace - Chef Levar has been part of the Free Food Team for over 2 years bringing 20 years of experience as a chef, food service director, and culinary mentor to everything he cooks. As Operations Manager of The Bronx CookSpace since 2025, he's spent his career removing barriers for food entrepreneurs in the South Bronx — running a 24/7 commercial kitchen, cutting red tape with free permits, and mentoring the next generation of culinary businesses with a simple philosophy: "I don't want you to need me anymore." Beyond the kitchen, Levar has hosted an annual community Thanksgiving in Harlem for over five years, bringing the same story-first, people-first spirit to Chef's Lab at Free Food.
Chef Nduvo Salaam - Chef Nduvo Salaam brings a career built across some of New York's most demanding kitchens — Le Cirque, Blue Smoke, BLT Market — with a formative stretch in Colmar, France under chef Jean-Yves Schillinger, before rising to executive chef roles at the Roosevelt Hotel and Café on Ralph, and most recently as founding Executive Chef of 10 Cubed at Central Park Tower (New York Times, Jan 2025). A longtime friend of Refettorio Harlem's Chef's Lab series, he's brought that same rigor and craft into our kitchen, joining fellow chefs Alexander Smalls and Joe Hayes for a Contemporary African Kitchen showcase that turned a community meal into an experience worthy of any tasting menu in the city — proof that world-class cooking and community care aren't separate missions, but the same one.
Menu
Starters passed
Fried Corn Elote
Crab cakes
Pigs in a blanket
1st Course
Smoked Watermelon Tartare
2nd Course
Pave Potato Salad
Main
Surf and Turf
Braised Beef Short Rib w/Sorrel Glaze
Marinated Shrimp Skewer
Sides
Charred Rainbow Carrots
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Dessert
Peach and Bourbon Finale
Supporting Partners
Need to know
Donation ticket is final and non-refundable
Event is wheelchair accessible
Allergens and General Questions to Refettorio team hello@refettorioharlem.org
Location
39 119th Street, New York, NY 10026 (inside Emanuel A.M.E Church )