Ghetto Gastro culinary collective spreading taste of the Bronx around the world

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A group of friends from the Bronx are stirring up the culinary scene, not just in New York but around the world.

They throw underground and secretive dinners that are often inspired by their Bronx background.

And we caught up with some of the members while they prepped for a dinner they were throwing in SoHo.

The theme, lightly inspired by the 1992 movie Juice that featured Tupac Shakur.

Certainly not traditional fodder for a food event, but this group is anything but traditional.

It begins with menu planning and prep, for a pop up dinner thrown by Ghetto Gastro.

"Our mission is bringing the Bronx to the world," said Jon Gray, one of this culinary collective's three founders.

Ghetto and gastro are two words you might not put together, but you should according to Gray.

"I think most of the best gastronomy comes from the ghetto. I think poor man's food is the best food," he said.

Jon grew up in the Bronx with a passion for food.

"We ate out a lot and I became the restaurant king of the family young because I picked the best stuff when I was 6 and I became responsible for ordering everyone else's food," Gray said.

So it's no surprise that while he isn't a chef, he has a hand in planning the menus.

"I can be a little whimsical with my thought process," said Jon.

Which isn't always so easy according to Pierre Serrao, a classically trained chef.

"His ideas are great. Sometimes they're not as easily executed as he seems to think but it's good because it pushes us to try something we haven't tried," said Serrao.

Two of the other founders work at top restaurants, one in Copenhagen, the other in D.C., and continue to chime in on the food.

Ghetto Gastro's pop up dinners often involve as many as 25 people behind the scenes, and they've been staged around the world.

The group is so successful it's able to give back by throwing dinners for friends and friends of friends. The hope is to encourage others to broaden their horizons and learn about the opportunities in the food world.

"A lot of people in our demographic might not have had access to these kind of food experiences or even this type of food," said Gray. "We bring the low fi and hi fi together you know."

Ghetto Gastro has been doing these dinners for 3 years now. They also mentor college students and recent graduates.

They hope to set up an urban farm in the Bronx, where they can grow food that they cook with and provide agricultural jobs as well.