Welcome
“For how many?”
A table for one — Arnav Kamulkar.
Arnav Kamulkar is a senior at the School of Hotel Administration and an accomplished chef, creating innovative takes on traditional South Asian cuisine while balancing academics and fraternity life.
Starters
Hang your coat, take a seat and wait for your amuse-bouche as the story unfolds.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Kamulkar to learn about the food he serves at his Cornell pop-up “CENA.”
First, dive into “Sabundana Vada,” a tapioca pearl cutlet with coconut tamarind chutney, inspired by Kamulkar’s mom’s favorite dish and a classic opener.
“I grew up in a family of foodies … we rarely ate out,” Kamulkar told me. “My parents were supportive of me cooking as long as someone ate it,” he explained. Luckily, his brother “eats,” giving Kamulkar the freedom to experiment in the kitchen and deepen his passion for cooking.
The second bite is a twist on “Khandvi,” an omelette topped with chickpea yogurt and peanut mustard, influenced by Kamulkar’s father. While still familiar, it provides fresh new flavors.
During Kamulkar’s sophomore year of high school, COVID-19 hit, and while many turned to whipped coffee and ‘cloud’ bread, Kamulkar decided to take a different route — one that demanded more time, dedication and trials.
Kamulkar spent hours scrubbing his deck and setting up lights — morphing his home into a dining experience for his pop-up restaurant “Fork in the Road.” This dining experience, open to friends and family, allowed him to practice his culinary skills on a larger scale while “thinking about the service side of cooking.”
The 3rd meal is self-proposed: “Kurkuri Bhindi,” thinly fried okra. This dish requires careful preparation in a way that “leaves people with a newly-found love for okra.”
Kamulkar explained how, when he worked at Clove 12, a local restaurant, they always had trays of the dish sitting around. Kurkuri Bhindi was always the perfect pick-me-up snack through Kamulkar’s long work days.
Clove 12 had invited Kamulkar to do pop-up dinners during his senior year of high school. While other high schoolers were staying up late hanging out with their friends, Kamulkar was always at the restaurant.
“That’s when my parents really saw my dedication,” Kamulkar explained. “Even when I didn’t want to go, I’d always show up.” Kamulkar spent most of his senior year learning various skills from hosting to cooking as he spent his Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the restaurant.
These three bites — Sabudana Vada, Khandvi and Kurkuri Bhindi — are intentionally brought out together in a chaat style, a “finger-licking” street food commonly found in India.
“As easily as I could have made it a small plate, the purpose is to keep having bites with the community,” Kamulkar explains. With each bite, guests learn about the people around them and the skills they bring. Kamulkar certainly did, as these three bites taught him all aspects of cooking and being in the food service industry. “It’s just as important to know how to be a dishwasher as it is to be a host,” Kamulkar told me, as he reflected on his experiences.
Entree
The plates are cleared as the next course is served.
Kamulkar started at the School of Hotel Administration in 2021 and says he values learning the business side, while noting his “culinary creativity [was] something that was more self-driven.”
The summer after sophomore year, Kamulkar got a 12-hour notice to hop on a plane to be a private chef for four NFL athletes for three weeks. In the kitchen, quick decisions keep the business running.
In junior year, though filmed a year prior, Kamulkar appeared on season 4 of Next Level Chef. Here, he got to learn techniques from long-time inspirations such as Gordon Ramsey and other passionate, like-minded chefs.
In senior year, though, Kamulkar expanded his “culinary collective,” CENA. Starting in 2023 with pop-up dinners, it became a “meal prep business” to get his food out to more people and has since expanded into a consistent, professional dining experience. “Growing up, there wasn't a lot of South Asian fine dining,” Kamulkar said. So he took matters into his own hands, working alongside Emma Roder ’26 and MBA student Stephen Jin ’27 to bring Indian-inspired pop-up dinners to Ithaca.
Kamulkar and his partners wanted to operate like a New York City Michelin Star restaurant while simultaneously providing a community experience — one communal table sitting 24 people with diverse backgrounds to share food and conversation.
So the hunt for the perfect location began …
It requires a specific place to hold such a special occasion — a frat basement.
While you may be shocked, the Phi Tau Fraternity house was the perfect location. The basement dining room connected perfectly with the industrial kitchen but was segmented from the rest of the house, making it ideal for a private dining experience. “We want to take something that people don't think of and blow their minds,” Kamulkar explained. However, it doesn’t come without hard work to renovate such a space. Days before the event, the whole basement was renovated, requiring lots of suds and sponges.
The day before the event, Kamulkar and his team spent 10 hours cooking and prepping. “It’s basically a six-credit class for me,” Kamulkar said.
“Fine dining has become really unapproachable, and as someone who is in love with [it] but a college student, I’m very aware of that,” he said. But through their pop-up events, Kamulkar and his partners pour their hearts and souls into making a more welcoming environment, changing the narrative of fine dining.
Lastly, what we’ve all been leaving room in our stomachs for: dessert.
After Cornell, Kamulkar wants to work in a restaurant in Chicago or New York City, drawing inspiration from Jake Potashnick, owner of Feld in Chicago. There is no doubt that wherever his path leads, Kamulkar will succeed with his dedication and humility that draws people into his story — not only through words but through his food as well.
Katie Istomin is a first-year in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ki227@cornell.edu.
