StarChefs.com held its second annual New York Rising Stars Revue awards at Mansion on Sept. 18 to honor 15 of this year's best new faces of food and drink in New York…less a female representative (cough).

To honor the culinary muscle and mind in the room, we decided to do what we know best: grill each of the finalists on topics ranging from molecular gastronomy and grisly kitchen mishaps to kitchen tours and Frank Bruni (Picholine’s former Chef de Cuisine had a bit to say about that). All questions were pulled randomly out of a sauté pan.      

We spoke with: Michael Anthony (Gramercy Tavern), Craig Hopson (One if by Land, Two if by Sea), Masato Shimizu (15 East), Damon Wise (Craft), Doug Psaltis (Country), Daniel Eardley (Chestnut), Akhtar Nawab (The E.U.), Chris Lee (Gilt), Yosuke Suga (L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon), Bill Corbett (Formerly of Anthos), Tim Butler (Alto), Eric Hara (David Burke & Donatella), Chris Santos (Stanton Social) and Jim Meehan (Pegu Club; PDT).

ON TO THE GRILLING—>