Top NJ Chefs Collaborate On Limited-Time Dishes

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Chef AJ Capella, the corporate chef of Montclair Hospitality Group, along with the originators of the Ani Ramen brand, and Jamie Knott, Chef/Owner of Saddle River Inn, Saddle River Café, and the new Madame in Jersey City (adjacent to his Cellar 335), are thrilled to offer two delicious collaborative dishes, available for a limited time only for early 2023.

In a fun and creative culinary exchange, each chef has created a dish in which their trademark style is adapted to each other’s restaurant. Proceeds from this collab will be donated to the Stand Up To Cancer organization.

Available only at the Jersey City location of Ani Ramen, Chef Jamie offers a Fire Beef Bao, comprised of Galbi skirt steak, kimchi and watercress. A special cocktail, French 75 With A Japanese Twist, has been created by Ani Ramen for pairing with the bao: it is comprised of gin, yuzu liqueur, yuzu juice, and prosecco.

For Madame, a few blocks north of Ani Ramen on Newark Avenue, Chef AJ will bring Local Fluke Crudo to the menu, with cured local fluke, apple, cucumber and cilantro. Chefs Capella and Knott have garnered acclaim throughout their New Jersey-centric careers and are equally committed to serving the best of locally sourced ingredients.

This exciting collaboration has resulted in two exceptional dishes born from a friendly camaraderie and mutual encouragement; guests can expect to find more of this series of Ani Ramen-based collabs in the future.

About Chef Jamie Knott: A graduate of New York Restaurant School, trained in NYC, Jamie hit his stride as opening sous chef of the acclaimed Fascino, followed by Executive Chef positions at China Grill, Ed’s Chowder House, The Empire Hotel and Artisanal Bistro. He struck out on his own in 2012 with the award-winning Saddle River Inn; in 2016 he and his partner Robert Palmer opened Cellar 335, and Saddle River Café followed in 2018. Last year, the partners bought the longtime favorite Madame Claude, transforming it into Madame, a French bistro and cocktail bar.

About Chef AJ Capella: A Culinary Institute of America grad, AJ’s career has led him to prominence in the teams at The Ryland Inn, Uproot, The Aviary at Columbus Circle, A Toute Heure and Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen. AJ is deeply involved in mentoring aspiring chefs and creating unique pop-ups and charity dinners such as open-flame cooking at Ironbound Cider. He’s proud to be a part of the Ani Ramen team as they have just celebrated their landmark tenth opening in Princeton.

Call ahead to make sure the dishes will be available.

Locations:

Ani Ramen House 218 Newark Avenue, Jersey City NJ 07302 201-408-9811 / www.aniramen.com / @aniramen Lunch: 11:30am-3pm / Dinner: Sun-Wed 4pm-12am, Thurs-Sat til 1am

Madame: 390 Fourth Street, Jersey City NJ 07302 201-876-8800 / www.madamejc.com / @madamejerseycity Dinner: Wed, Thurs, Sun 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat til 11pm

This press release was produced by Gail Schoenberg PR. The views expressed here are the author's own.