KC Flavor Champion: Nathaniel Malone

In 2024, Nathaniel Malone, PCIII, traveled to Mumbai to research Indian street food for a chaat concept he was developing for Creative Dining Services, where he is corporate executive chef. “The diversity of flavors and textures blew me away,” he recounts. “And it inspired so many of my dishes since.” Count among these the Chaat Lentil Waffle with Tikka Lamb Ham that earned top honors from Lentils.org in the Kitchen Collaborative 2025 recipe development competition from Summit F&B and Flavor & The Menu. “This dish is an attempt to be respectful of the rich culture of food in India, while showcasing a unique way of bringing those flavors to the breakfast segment and appeal to American diners.”

Malone is completely captivated by chaat. “It’s irresistible because it embodies contrast and balance: sweet, sour, spicy, crispy and smooth all in a single bite,” he explains. “It creates such joy in the eating experience. Chaat is food that’s alive, and it wakes up the palate and connects culture, history and street-level energy all in one dish. That’s why I keep coming back to it as inspiration.”

The chef is also an unabashed fan of lentils. “They have always been part of my cooking because they’re versatile, nutritious and deeply rooted in so many food traditions,” Malone says. For Kitchen Collaborative, he wanted to feature lentils beyond expected applications like a soup or curry and prove their value in unexpected dayparts like breakfast. He used lentils in a waffle batter and fried them up in a hash mix also featuring lamb ham from Aussie Select.

“The idea of using lentils, with their sweet nuttiness, in a breakfast dish came from wanting to merge the comforting format of a waffle with the vibrancy of chaat,” he explains. “The lentil-based batter gave the waffle substance and depth, while the crispy lentils in the hash brought a crunchy texture.” That hash combined the ham and crispy lentils with potatoes and spices. A tamarind syrup adds a sweet-tart brightness to the dish, while coriander chutney lends herbaceous freshness. And, of course, chaat spice is sprinkled “generously” over the dish to tie it all together with a tangy, aromatic lift.

OPPORTUNITY IS TABLE STAKES

“Kitchen Collaborative attracts so much incredible talent and innovation, so to see my dish rise to the top was an honor,” says Malone. “It was one of those concepts that came straight from my heart and travels. It was validating to know that it resonated with others as much as it did with me.”

Sponsors of Kitchen Collaborative 2025 selected winners based on a blind judging of concept descriptions, photos and other information. The 12 chefs behind the top dishes each earned an enviable trip to Dubai led by Flavor & The Menu and Summit to experience the region’s culinary scene and attend Gulfood 2026.

“The Gulfood show is legendary for showcasing emerging trends, ingredients and perspectives from around the world,” says Malone, excited to attend for the first time and immerse himself in the setting and the experience. “But for me, the most exciting part will be learning, exchanging ideas with other chefs and bringing those insights back to inspire the programs we create at Creative Dining Services.”

Indeed, Malone finds the whole experience of Kitchen Collaborative to be energizing. “Projects like these sharpen my creativity and help me build a broader culinary toolbox,” he says. “I’ve discovered new products and techniques through this experience that I’ve since adapted for large-scale menus in our college/university accounts. Just as important, the process forces me to stay agile by thinking about cost, scalability, guest appeal and storytelling all at once.”

MORE INSPIRED TAKES

Defying expectations around select ingredients was a top driver for Malone in other concepts he developed for Kitchen Collaborative. The following are examples of how innovated with pasta and ricotta—but not together.

Crispy Snowfall Pasta with Goat Cheese Cream

Presented with Barilla pasta in the shape of snowflakes, Malone was undeterred by a product he felt was likely targeted to children. “Whimsy has an important place in food, as it creates delight and surprise and reminds diners that food is meant to be fun. With thoughtful preparation and high-quality ingredients, whimsy can bridge comfort and sophistication beautifully,” he says. “For adults, a playful element like the Snowfall Pasta is nostalgic, but it can be reimagined in a refined way.”

Malone sought to elevate a familiar pasta dish—mac and cheese—with layers of texture, flavor and presentation, “while keeping that sense of playful harm intact.” His Crispy Snowfall Pasta with Goat Cheese Cream features butter-fried pasta, honey added to the cream, spring peas, roasted garlic and Italian sausage.

“I started with the pasta itself,” he recounts. “The snowflake shapes are charming, but I wanted to transform them texturally. By par-cooking and then crisping them in olive oil, they became a crunchy base, almost like a crouton.” The goat cheese cream added tang and richness, while the Italian sausage provided a savory depth.

“I developed this dish in the spring, and I liked the idea of it representing the seasonal transition from winter to spring,” says Malone. “The pasta spoke to the lingering cold, while the addition of fresh spring peas brought brightness and seasonality—almost a symbolic awakening of the plate.”

Ricotta Toast

Malone approached this concept with two goals: Release ricotta from the pasta-and-pastry box, while embracing the opportunities in breakfast, a segment he finds “brimming with potential for new ideas,” especially for innovative toast creations. “By incorporating less-common ingredients, we can introduce fresh excitement and intriguing flavor combinations to the breakfast menu,” he says.

The hero ingredient—the ricotta from Kitchen Collaborative sponsor BelGioioso—offers “an exceptionally rich mouthfeel,” credits Malone. “It’s not overly sweet, like some other brands, and this quality allows chefs to effortlessly incorporate it into both sweet and savory applications with simple additions.” For this dish, those simple additions are lavender salt and a touch of hot honey.

Separately, Malone’s list of “less common” ingredients for a novel toast include a pesto made of pistachio, spinach and ginger pesto, sumo mandarins, roasted yellow beets and a sunny-side-up, crispy fried egg piled onto a seeded sourdough. “A great toast starts with a great bread,” he notes. His was a homemade, seeded, whole-wheat sourdough pan-toasted in olive oil. Making a pesto with such surprising flavors also added interest to the dish.

The complete toast build is a study in flavor sophistication. The lavender salt brings a floral minerality, while the hot honey adds a bit of heat. The pesto delivers nuttiness, earthiness and a subtle spice. The sumo mandarin offers the brightness of citrus, complemented by the color and earthy sweetness of the yellow beets. The fried egg ties it all together with a luxe richness.

There are more winning concepts still to celebrate from Kitchen Collaborative 2025. Keep an eye out for these in coming weeks.

Kitchen Collaborative Project Management: Summit F&B
Chaat Lentil Waffle with Tikka Lamb Ham photo: Photography: otysonphoto.com // Food Styling: Peg Blackley