When Chefs Collaborate on a Menu, Anything Goes

Once upon a time, chefs from different restaurants who wanted to get together and cook mostly had to do so at benefits and other one-night stands. They bonded, but they “bonded in misery,” as one renowned chef says. The opportunity to be creative was limited by the format, with courses divvied up among the many and limelight falling on few.

No wonder more and more chefs are choosing to collaborate in game-changing—and even restaurant-swapping—ways, as...