New York City – Chefs for Kids’ Cancer

Considered one of the top chefs in the country, and recognized for his dedication to quality and craftsmanship, Jonathan Benno’s career spans more than three decades, having worked in some of the world’s finest restaurants. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, the spirit of his cuisine has been cultivated through his mentors including John Farnsworth, Michael Mina, Daniel Boulud, Tom Colicchio, and Thomas Keller, who helped shape his philosophy about food and dining, and instill in him the drive to settle for nothing less than excellence. Benno spent six years as the Chef de Cuisine of Per Se, during which time he helped earn the restaurant three Michelin stars and four stars from the New York Times, and was named a Food & Wine Magazine “Best New Chef.” Most recently, Chef Benno spent six years at the helm of Lincoln Center’s Lincoln Ristorante, where he gained critical acclaim for his contemporary Italian Cuisine.

In 2018 the newly redesigned landmark The Evelyn Hotel became home to the next chapter in Chef Benno’s culinary career. He introduced three distinct, yet complementary concepts: Leonelli Taberna, a casual Roman-inspired trattoria; Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria, a bakery and cafe inspired by the great bakeries of Rome and New York’s rich history of Italian-American pastry shops; and his first eponymous project, Benno, a fine dining restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Benno operated the concepts at the Evelyn Hotel from 2018 to 2022.

Daniel Eddy began his culinary career in 2004. After 4 years of cooking in NYC, Eddy decided to travel, ultimately landing in Paris in 2009. There he had a chance to work with Daniel Rose (Le Cou Cou/Starr Restaurant) at his first acclaimed restaurant, Spring.

After three years at Spring, Daniel returned to home NYC, and in April of 2015 he opened Rebelle restaurant, receiving critical acclaim and a Michelin star in his first year, which he held onto until his departure in 2017.

In 2017 Eddy opened Walnut Street Cafe, which garnered a three bell review from the Philadelphia Enquirer, and listed in the Top 25 restaurants in Philadelphia for 2017.

Eddy opened Winner, a bakery, restaurant, and bar, this spring in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Amidst a global pandemic he and his team have created a place of growing popularity with the locals and praise from media outlets like The New Yorker, NY Times, and Bon Appétit.

Chef Marc Forgione is the acclaimed chef and owner of iconic wood-fired destination Peasant and the eponymous Forge.

Hospitality is in Marc’s blood. He began his culinary career at the age of 16, joining his father, Larry Forgione (known as “The Godfather” of American Cuisine), in the kitchen at the celebrated restaurant An American Place. After years in the industry, working at some of the finest restaurants in New York City and France, Marc opened his first highly-acclaimed restaurant and Tribeca-favorite, Restaurant Marc Forgione. Marc prides the restaurant as being an approachable place “that people walk by and are compelled to enter and where the ingredients are the star.” The restaurant earned esteemed accolades such as consecutive Michelin stars, a two-star review from The New York Times, and being named “Key Newcomer” by Zagat Guide. As the chef and owner, Marc was awarded “Star Chefs Rising Star of the Year.”

In 2020, Marc took over the iconic Nolita destination Peasant, the wood-fired Italian restaurant that has been a downtown NYC fixture for the past 22 years. Originally opened by chef Frank DeCarlo in 1999, Peasant was Marc’s favorite restaurant as he was a longtime resident of the NoLita neighborhood. When Frank was ready to retire, he asked Marc to take the restaurant over, and Marc jumped at the chance of keeping the spirit of the longtime neighborhood favorite restaurant alive. Marc’s menu is an ode to simple rustic wood fired Italian cooking and uses seasonal, local, and thoughtfully sourced ingredients.

Additionally, Marc is known for his role on Food Network as one of the seven Iron Chefs on “Iron Chef America.”  He is also a partner of New York City’s Laotian hotspot Khe-Yo, and author of “Marc Forgione: Recipes and Stories from the Acclaimed Chef and Restaurant.”  Donating his time to worthy charitable causes, Marc acts as a Chef Ambassador for Chefs for Kids’ Cancer, City Harvest, and Feeding America.

Looking ahead, Marc is partnering with established hospitality firm Apres Cru to launch a new vision: R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Hospitality, which will oversee Marc’s current restaurants.  Marc has always lived and worked by the mantra of ‘respect’ as it touches so many aspects of hospitality, from ingredients to history to employees to the art of service and more. The hope is that respect will become contagious.

Born and raised in NYC, Dan grew up in a family where cooking always played a major role. Dan attended Syracuse University where he majored in Nutrition and Hospitality Management. He spent his externship in the dining room of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Cafe and after graduation returned to work in the front of house until he was offered his first kitchen position as a prep cook. It was USC that opened his eyes to the wonders of seasonal cooking and he spent the next two and a half years working his way through every station.

In 1999, Dan was asked to be a part of the opening team of Tabla Restaurant and spent the next seven years working his way up, becoming Tabla’s first Chef de Cuisine. Under Chef Floyd Cardoz’s direction, Dan was able to fine-tune his cooking techniques, the balance of flavors and textures in his dishes, and the use of Indian spices. Upon leaving Tabla, Dan was hired by Tom Colicchio as the Executive Chef for a project he was consulting on called The Core Club. Dan spent the next four years as the clubs culinary leader transforming the way a “members only” dining room was experienced.

Kluger joined Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s team in 2008 where he helped open restaurants in Arizona, Utah, DC and New York before opening ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina as the executive chef winning multiple awards including the 2011 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant as well as being honored as Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2012 and receiving the 2014 James Bead Nomination for Best Chef New York City.

Dan’s highly anticipated first solo venture, Loring Place, opened in 2016 fulfilling a lifelong dream and showcasing the skills he had become known for throughout his career. In Fall 2020, he released his debut cookbook ‘Chasing Flavor‘ followed by the launch of the to – go only grandma pizza concept, Washington Squares, in December 2020. He most recently opened his third project Greywind in 2023, located in Hudson Yards alongside an adjacent bakery (The Bakery at Greywind) and cocktail bar (Spygold). When Dan isn’t cooking, he spends time with his wife and two daughters.

Missy Robbins is the James Beard Award-winning chef/owner of acclaimed Lilia and Misi restaurants; the co-founder of MISIPASTA, a pasta and Italian specialty foods company, and co-founder of Grovehouse, a hospitality company.  Missy’s first book, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner… Life was published in 2017. Her second cookbook, PASTA, was published in 2021.

Jess Shadbolt is the co-head chef at King, where she serves an elegant and simple daily changing menu devoted to the seasons. A London native, Jess previously worked at the famed River Café, and brings a London-style of cooking to King, coupled with dishes inspired by the vibrant, honest cuisine of Provence and the Italian countryside. Along with her co-head chef Clare de Boer, Jess’s culinary talents were recognized by The New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells in his annual “Best Restaurants of 2017,” and the critic also awarded King a glowing two star review.

A Greenwich Village native, Jamal James Kent started his culinary career as a summer apprentice at Bouley when he was fifteen years old. After taking classes at Le Cordon Bleu in London and Paris then graduating from Johnson & Wales, Kent moved back to New York where he spent time in the kitchens of some of New York’s most storied restaurants including Babbo and Jean-Georges. In the spring of 2007, Kent joined the team at Eleven Madison Park as a line cook and was quickly promoted to sous chef.

In 2010, Kent placed first in the Bocuse d’Or USA Competition; he then represented the United States at the international finals of the Bocuse D’Or in Lyon, France the following year where he placed 10th in the world. When he returned to New York, Kent was named chef de cuisine of Eleven Madison Park. Under his leadership, EMP received nearly every accolade bestowed on a restaurant including four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and a coveted spot on the San Pellegrino list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Kent was promoted to Executive Chef of the NoMad in the fall of 2013, the same year that it received one Michelin Star. He left The NoMad in 2017 to pursue his first solo project, an ambitious pair of restaurants in the landmark Art Deco building at 70 Pine Street in New York’s Financial District. Kent opened Crown Shy, the first of those restaurants, in March 2019. Just six months after opening, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star. After 18 months of pandemic-related delays, Kent opened SAGA–a fine-dining restaurant in the tiered spire of the building–in August of 2021. In October 2022, SAGA was awarded two Michelin stars.

Kent is an active supporter of a number of charities working to eradicate childhood hunger in New York City including No Kid Hungry and ReThink Food, for which he sits on the Chef’s Council. Kent has twice co-chaired the annual Chefs for Kids’ Cancer event benefiting Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a nationally-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit committed to raising funds for research to develop new, improved, and less toxic treatments for pediatric cancer. And he’s a mentor for Ment’Or organization devoted to inspiring culinary excellence in young professionals and preserving the traditions and quality of cuisine in America.

It was recently announced that Chef Kent will open an as-yet-to-be-named Park Avenue South seafood restaurant – set to open by spring 2024.

GOOD News: You can also BID on Chef Kent’s contribution to our Art Auction HERE

Photo Credit: Maxwell Swift