It could be a recipe for disaster at one of the city’s fabled restaurants.
Two of New York’s top chefs are bolting celebrity-studded Le Cirque 2000, The Post has learned.
According to inside sources, four-star executive chef Sottha Khunn and famed pastry master Jacques Torres are vacating Sirio Maccioni’s $3 million state-of-the-art kitchen within the next two months.
“Basically, Captain Kirk is losing both Spock and Scotty in the Starship Enterprise,” says one source.
Khunn, 49, the son of prominent Cambodian parents, fled the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Phen for France in 1974 to apprentice in some of the best kitchens in the country, including top-rated Troisgros in Roanne.
Daniel Boulud — chef/owner of restaurant Daniel — brought the culinary whiz from France to the old Le Cirque as his sous chef in 1986.
Today, the former refugee oversees a kitchen staff of more than 53 assistants.
When reached at Le Cirque’s kitchen, Khunn wouldn’t confirm the date of his departure. “We [haven’t] decided yet,” he said.
When pressed for details, the soft-spoken chef deferred comment. “If you call Sirio, he will explain to you everything.”
But Maccioni, through his public-relations firm, refuses to admit or deny there is anything afoot in his restaurant.
But last week, Maccioni introduced sous chef Pierre Schaedelin to patrons as his “co-chef.”
Now Schaedelin has been tapped as head chef, according to insiders.
When asked directly about the changing of the guard, Schaedelin carefully replied: “Nothing is official for the moment.”
Meanwhile, a source in Le Cirque’s kitchen confirmed: “Sottha told us he wants to leave. He’s already been here for 14 years, but nothing will be official for the next week or two.”
Says a friend of Khunn: “[Sottha] is fed up with the union presence in the kitchen” — but the friend wouldn’t elaborate further.
Torres, 40, considered the country’s best pastry chef, is a French native also recruited by Boulud. He has already made his plans official by giving Maccioni notice, friends say.
The affable chef’s accolades and achievements include hosting his own PBS television series, authoring books and receiving the James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year award.