Meet the Chef: Tsering Nyima

Tsering Nyima is Great Performances’ Chef de Cuisine at the Garden Court Café at Asia Society. Chef Nyima came to Great Performances with culinary experience grounded in cuisines ranging from French, Indian, New American, German, Austrian, Chinese, and Japanese. His journey began in eastern Tibet, where he was born, though he left at age 14 for a life of exile in India. It was there, at a Buddhist monastery, that Chef Nyima learned how to cook. He spent eight years practicing his craft while drawing inspiration from Indian ingredients and techniques.

After moving to New York City and studying at the New York Hotel Management School, Chef Nyima mastered his cooking skills and knowledge under the guidance of chefs including: Laurent Tourondel (BLT Steak, BLT Burger, Brasserie Ruhlmann), Gary Robins (Moko), Kurt Gutenbrunner (Wallse, Blaue Gans), and Tadeo Mikami (Hatsuhana). In 2010, he joined Great Performances as BAMcafe’s head chef at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and now heads the kitchen at Asia Society’s Garden Court Café.