Mandarins with Cilantro, Toasted Sesame Oil, Calabrian Chile, and Kampot Peppercorns

When I was a kid, I thought mandarins were just weird, syrupy things that came in a can, and I wasn’t super into them. But then I finally tried the real thing. Remarkably vibrant fruit, incredibly acidic, but still so sweet.

We ran this dish as a kind of snack; the kitchen team and I were very keen on it. Luckily, so was Pete Wells, the New York Times restaurant cri