Before Heading To Culinary School, Teen Chef Will Open Pop-Up Restaurant In New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A teenager taught himself to cook so well that he is now a sought after chef preparing to open a 'pop-up' restaurant.

As CBS2's Elise Fynch reported, Flynn McGarry looks like a typical 16-year-old.

He taught himself to cook when he was just 10-years-old. He got a cook book as a gift and wanted to be able to make the dishes he was reading about.

"Through YouTube and books and the Internet, learned how to do all of the basic French techniques so I could cook out of the book and then from there I started making recipes and all that stuff," he said, "I still can't go to culinary school. I'm still not old enough to go to culinary school for another year, so at that time there really was no other option."

The Southern California native graduated from high school earlier this year and started working in restaurants in the United States and Europe.

He called his food "modern American" and features courses like a vegetarian stew with charred squash, roasted onions, and seaweed.

McGarry is the first chef to partner with Creative Edge Parties, a catering company, for a new program showcasing fresh culinary ideas and talent.

"When you're in the catering world you're really sort of isolated to the four walls that you're in and you don't get that same exposure to what's going on in the food world. So what I want to do is bring it in here and so really the way to keep our game notched up it to collaborate with different chefs," he said.

Carla Ruben's company provides the space and financial backing for an arrangement she said benefits everyone.

"What we're trying to do is help chefs launch their careers by giving them a platform where they actually get to open a real restaurant in the middle of New York City," she said.

"We learn how to do everything that it takes to open a restaurant before we actually open a restaurant. I've already made all my mistakes or fixed the problems," McGarry said.

Ruben said the room where her clients normally sample food will be transformed into McGarry's intimate dinner venue.

McGarry will prepare 14 small dishes for each person attending his pop-up restaurant. He said the tiny portions keep diners' taste buds stimulated.

"None of the courses are more than two or three bites, so it makes it so you eat and go 'this is delicious, I want more,'" McGarry said.

In addition to his stew McGarry will offer diners his signature savory beet dish and aged ribeye.

The teen chef's pop-up restaurant opens on Saturday at 639 Washington St.