About Akhtar

Akhtar Nawab is chef and owner of Alta Calidad in New York, Otra Vez in New Orleans, and Founder/CEO of Hospitality HQ. With nearly 25 years of experience in the kitchen, the Kentucky-born chef of Indian heritage has embraced Mexican cuisine, connecting the layered, complex cooking and ingredients of Mexico with the Indian food he grew up eating.

Nawab’s ‘less-is-more’ style of cooking has earned him critical praise throughout the years, beginning with his experience in the kitchen at acclaimed restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Craftbar and Craft, the latter of which received three stars from The New York Times and won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant” Award during Nawab’s tenure. Nawab moved on to serve as the executive chef of East Village gastropub The E.U., for which he received StarChef’s “Rising Star Chef” award before striking out on his own as a partner at Elettaria. Moving towards Mexican cuisine, Nawab took the helm at popular NYC hotspot La Esquina. In 2017, Nawab opened his innovative Mexican restaurant Alta Calidad in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, which earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2018 and 2019 and continues to thrive as a neighborhood mainstay.

In 2019, Nawab opened Otra Vez at The Standard in the South Market District in New Orleans. Much like his own culinary style, Nawab has long admired the diverse cuisines and gastronomic influences represented in New Orleans. At Otra Vez, Nawab continues to build on his refined style of cooking, with dishes rooted in the big, classic flavors associated with Mexican cuisine incorporating the ingredients of Louisiana.

Building on his vast food hall experience, with Choza and Indie Fresh, In 2019 Nawab founded Hospitality HQ, a food hall management firm, with partner Michael Wetherbee. Hospitality HQ’s properties include Inner Rail Food Hall (Omaha, NE), Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall (Chicago, IL), Lyric Market (Houston, TX), Marble City Market (Knoxville, TN), and several others opening soon.

Nawab has been featured in various publications, including Food & Wine, Bon Appetit and Eater, and has appeared on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” He was included in acclaimed cookbook Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs (Phaidon, 2009) and released his first cookbook Good For You, all about his unique take on healthy food, in 2020.