The wunderkind behind the Gem family of restaurants recently opened Cove, a fine-dining restaurant bringing California sensibilities to Manhattan's Hudson Square. The produce-driven menu, sourced largely from the chef's personal plot at Mama Farm on Long Island, is just one way of paying homage to his California roots. We caught up with McGarry after fashion week, where he offered guests of J.Crew an early taste of what he'll be cooking at Cove.

The J.Crew Fashion Week dinner felt like an elegant dinner party in someone’s home - elevated, yet personal. How did you curate a menu that struck that balance, and what story did you aim to tell with the food?

I wanted to create something that felt casual enough to share between friends but still elegant enough to pair with the space. My cooking has always focused around sharing as well. You previewed dishes from your upcoming restaurant, Cove. How did it feel to share that work in such a high-profile setting, and did the night influence how you’re thinking about the restaurant’s final menu?

It was exciting to be able to show what we’ve been working on. It was great to see how the food could connect the evening. Much of your work focuses on details and intimacy. What challenges do you face, if any, when trying to translate your recipes to feed larger crowds at a time? Was scaling your recipes a challenge?

Scaling is always a challenge. I decided to lean into dishes that could lend themselves to the larger party better. We’ve done a lot of these larger events so we’re starting to create a guide for how to do them successfully.

Cove marks a new chapter for you. In what ways does it reflect an evolution from Gem, both creatively and operationally?

Cove is much bigger! It’s a larger stage which is a little scary for creativity, but it’s now also about how to run the restaurant as a team. Most of my job right now is how to get the restaurant to run operationally while still working on new dishes.

As you look toward the opening of Cove and this next phase of your career, what’s driving you? What are you most excited to explore or push forward in this new era?

Right now we’re in the phase where we’re just trying to get through the opening! Then I can think about what’s next.