Alon Shaya

Alon Shaya (born 1979) is an Israeli-American celebrity chef and restaurant owner. He is the author of several cookbooks and the owner of a hospitality and restaurant consulting business, Pomegranate Hospitality.[1]

Alon Shaya
Born1979 (age 41–42)
Bat Yam, Israel
NationalityIsraeli-American
EducationHarriton High School
Central Montco Technical School
Culinary Institute of America
OccupationCelebrity chef, restaurant owner
Spouse(s)Emily Ostuw

Early years and education

Shaya was born in Bat Yam, Israel and raised in Philadelphia, where he moved at the age of four.[2] He attended Harriton High School and the Central Montco Technical School.[3] He trained at the Culinary Institute of America.[4]

Career

Shaya began his culinary career as an intern at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He also cooked in restaurants in St. Louis and Italy.[5] He moved to New Orleans in 2001,[6] and later opened his namesake restaurant there. He opened the Pomegranate Hospitality company in 2017 [7] and two new restaurants, Saba in New Orleans and Safta in Denver.[8][9][10]

Shaya was fired from the Besh Restaurant Group in 2017 when initial sexual harassment allegations were being publicized by employees of the company.[11][12] He sued Besh to remove his name from the eatery[13] but lost that case in an out of court settlement in 2018.[14]

In 2019 he took chefs from his restaurants to Israel on a culinary tour so they could incorporate those tastes and flavors in the American establishments.[15] He also participated in Galileat, a food workshop in Galilee.[16]

In 2020 he presented at a Blackberry Farm event.[17] He is a brand ambassador for Camellia Brand.[18]

He was a judge on the 15th season of Top Chef.[11]

Awards

In 2010, Shaya was named one of Esquire Magazine’s “Chefs to Watch”  and in 2012 he was named Chef of the Year by Eater New Orleans.[19]

He listed as one of the “50 People Who are Changing the South” by Southern Living Magazine in 2015.[20] He was also listed as one of the “50 Most Influential Jews in America” by the Forward.[2]

He was nominated for five James Beard Awards and won two:[21]

  • 2015: James Beard Award for Best Chef, based on his cooking as the executive chef at Domenica[8]
  • 2016: the Shaya eatery was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for the country's best new restaurant.

He won the “Youth Advocate Award” from Liberty's Kitchen, and was honored by InspireNOLA Schools for his work with Edna Karr Charter High School.[22]

Publications

He has contributed to KITCHN magazine.[23] In 2018 he published Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel (Knopf).[24][25]

Philanthropy

In 2016, Shaya partnered with his high school home economics teacher, Donna Barnett,[26] to form the Shaya Barnett Foundation, which brings culinary education to high schools.[27]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaya turned his closed restaurants into soup kitchens offering free meals to furloughed hospitality-industry workers.[28][29] He also partnered with chef Edward Lee in founding the Restaurant Worker Relief program.[30]

He is a chef fundraiser for No Kid Hungry, Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and DC Central Kitchen/Martha’s Table.[22]

Personal

Shaya is married to Emily Ostuw,[1] and lives in New Orleans.[31]

References
  1. "Alon Shaya Creates Restaurant Consulting Division". Biz New Orleans. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  2. "Alon Shaya". The Forward. The Forward Association, Inc. 2015. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  3. Group, M. English For MediaNews. "Montco culinary school grad, star chef Alon Shaya speaks at Culinary Institute commencement". Montgomery News. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  4. "Rising Star Chef Alon Shaya - Biography". Star Chefs. StarChefs. September 2017.
  5. "Chef Shaya Reconnects With His Israeli Roots". ift.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  6. "Alon Shaya, Shaya Restaurant". neworleans.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  7. Hamilton, April. "Chef Alon Shaya Celebrates First Year Of Successful New Business Launch". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  8. "The Chef Who Lost His Name". THE BITTER SOUTHERNER. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  9. "Alon ShayaSabaNew Orleans". ChefsFeed. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  10. Republic, Food (2018-04-12). "Alon Shaya Talks New Restaurants, Book On Food Republic Today". Food Republic. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  11. "Chef Alon Shaya Tries to Put Besh Behind Him With Two New Projects". Skift Table. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  12. "Chef Alon Shaya is building an empire based on treating people right". OffBeat Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  13. Rainey, Clint (2017-12-21). "Alon Shaya Wants to Remove His Name From John Besh's Restaurant Group". Grub Street. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  14. [email protected], IAN MCNULTY |. "John Besh, Alon Shaya reach settlement; legal feud ends with kind words, separate restaurants". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  15. "How Home Cooking Transformed My Trip to Israel". AFAR Media. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  16. "The renowned chef Alon Shaya participated this week in a GalilEat cooking workshop in Yarka". WGN. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  17. "Alon Shaya with Andy Chabot and Cassidee Dabney". theblackberrymagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  18. "Camellia Brand Forges Partnership with Award-Winning Chef Alon Shaya". Camellia Brand. 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  19. Finkelstein, Shane (2015-05-16). "New Orleans Chef Alon Shaya Wins the James Beard Award". Culturated.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  20. "Fishers OBM". FOONSTER_SITE_TITLE. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  21. "Alon Shaya | James Beard Foundation". jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  22. "Alon Shaya • Slow Food Nations". Slow Food Nations. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  23. "Alon Shaya". The Kitchn. Apartment Therapy, LLC. March 23, 2018.
  24. "Alon Shaya | Jewish Book Council". jewishbookcouncil.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  25. Shaya, Alon (2018-03-13). Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel: A Cookbook. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-451-49417-7.
  26. D'Addono, Beth. "'She saved my life,' superstar chef Alon Shaya says of his Harriton High home-ec teacher". inquirer.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  27. "Home Page » Shaya Barnett Foundation". Shaya Barnett Foundation. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  28. Tenorio, Rich. "Israeli celeb chef in New Orleans turns shuttered restaurants into soup kitchens". timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  29. Raposo, Jacqueline (2020-05-11). "Alon Shaya On Recovery… Again". Words.Food.Art. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  30. "Chefs Edward Lee, Alon Shaya and others start restaurant workers relief program for employees impacted by coronavirus". Restaurant Hospitality. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  31. "Chef Alon Shaya | Oregon Jewish Life". 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
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