FOR “ELEGANT COMFORT FOOD”

EVELYN’S KITCHEN, evelyns-kitchen.com

“one of the most talented chefs and an amazing human being,” says Roc Nation’s Jana Fleishman of Ayala Donchin, the executive chef and founder of Evelyn’s Kitchen. After years working in community relations for the Knicks and overseeing the foundations of NBA stars, Donchin opened a catering business and East Harlem café named for her godmother. Her thing is “elegant comfort food,” so passed hors d’oeuvre may include chile-lime crab cakes or braised short rib on little

pieces of jalapeño-cheddar cornbread. Pre-shutdown, Evelyn’s was an in-house caterer for Moët Hennessy USA and worked show days for Last Week Tonight With

John Oliver. “It’s the attention to detail and creativity that stick out for me,” says Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns. “When I became a vegan two years ago, Ayala shifted with me, even creating vegan choc-chunk cookies. She’s always unfazed.” Evelyn’s will tackle small groups or parties of 300 (each is personalized, and she has a $1,000 food-andbeverage minimum).