Atop New York’s stylish Kimpton Hotel Theta, you’ll find Bar Sprezzatura, where sustainable produce and great drinks go together brilliantly well. To find out what to expect at the top spot, James Wilkinson caught up with Bar Sprezzatura Executive Chef, Trevor Kalafus.

Trevor, tell is about the fantastic food and beverage offerings at Kimpton Hotel Theta.

For all the outlets at Kimpton Hotel Theta, we predominantly source sustainable and ethical products from the marketplace to the rooftop.

Our on-site production kitchen is responsible for the grab and go options made fresh on a daily basis. Breakfast sandwiches and pastries are made fresh in the morning and sent over to Cafe Otto for guests to enjoy.

Bar Sprezzatura on the rooftop is an Amalfi Coast inspired tapas restaurant with a focus on elevated bites and craft cocktails.

There’s a big focus on local produce at the property – tell us about that.

To start our guests’ mornings, we offer complimentary coffee sourced through Afficionado, a Brooklyn based local coffee roaster.

The vast majority of the produce we use for food prep in all outlets comes to us from the Hudson valley. Our seafood is sourced from the Atlantic, predominantly off the coast of long island.

What are some of your favourite ingredients to work with at present?

Anything Szechuan, Italian cheeses, white truffle, regional olive oil and finishing vinegars

What are some of your favourite dishes across the property and why?

Tuna Crispy Rice – it is a perfect marriage of Asian influences and Tuna Carpaccio.

Porchetta Bao Bun – it is light and fluffy on the outside, sweet, savory and crunchy on the inside.

Cappelletti Caprese – Simple San Marzano tomato, perfect al dente pasta and creamy pecorino fondue.

Mission Figs – hot Soppressata, smoked blue cheese with sweet and sour fig chutney, spicy pistachio.

Tell us about your background and your career journey so far.

I moved to New York City five years ago from Newport, Rhode Island after having earned stripes on hot lines in busy summer season restaurants such as 22 Bowens, Bar and Board Bistro.

I found an Executive Sous position with Crew at Grand Banks in Tribecca and later that summer at Pilot in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the city’s two floating Oyster Bars.

After the summer I took an Executive Chef job at Jungle Bird in Chelsea for the winter and spring until returning to crew the next summer to be the Executive Chef at Pilot.

Looking for something new after the winter, I found a position to expand my skillset at Casa Lever in midtown, the flagship fine dining location for Sant Ambroeus and Felice.

Later I was promoted to chef de cuisine and stayed on with them for almost two years. When I felt it was time to move on, I began looking and was found by Kimpton Hotel Theta and Bar Sprezzatura to design the menu and open the concept.

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