Five of Washington’s Food & Wine Best New Chefs are joining Chef Carlos Delgado at Maru San for a rotating collaboration series that runs from October 2026 through February 2027.
The Series Grew Out Of Delgado’s Own Honor
Delgado earned a spot on Food & Wine’s 2026 Best New Chefs list for his work at Causa, Amazonia and his solo Capitol Hill counter Maru San, and he is marking the honor by inviting fellow honorees into his kitchen one night at a time.
Each visiting chef joins Delgado to build a signature handroll set, pairing Maru San’s Japanese Peruvian Nikkei style with the guest’s own background, from Italian coastal cooking to Korean and Mexican technique. A portion of the proceeds from each night benefits No Kid Hungry or a charity of the visiting chef’s choosing.
Five Dates Run Through Next February
The series opens Tuesday, October 27 with Fabio Trabocchi of Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, a 2002 Best New Chef. Angel Barreto of Anju, a 2021 honoree, follows on November 17, and Rob Rubba of the Michelin starred Oyster Oyster, a 2022 honoree, takes the counter December 1. Masako Morishita of Perry’s, one of this year’s Best New Chefs alongside Delgado, closes out winter on February 23, and Isabel Coss of Pascual, a 2023 honoree, joins on a date still to be announced.
A Tiny Counter Built For Close Contact With The Kitchen
Maru San seats guests at a narrow counter in the Eastern Market area of Capitol Hill, the kind of setup that puts diners a few feet from the chefs on any given night. That proximity is part of the draw for a series like this one, where a guest chef’s technique is on full display rather than tucked behind a kitchen door. Regulars of the Best New Chefs list will recognize several of these names from national recognition earned over the past two decades.
Maru San is located in the Eastern Market area of Capitol Hill, Washington DC. Pricing for the handroll series has not been publicly listed yet, though reservations are expected to open through Resy in the coming weeks. Diners can check Maru San’s website for updates as each date approaches.
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Photo by Rey Lopez.
