Who We Are
Chef John Doherty was on the New Jersey Turnpike when he heard his new calling.
Doherty had already spent 23 years as Executive Chef at the Waldorf Astoria, feeding VIPs from presidents and heads of state to celebrities. Although he had already opened his own thriving New York City restaurant, BlackBarn he was always thinking about how he good share his skills with those in need. It was during that time that his life’s work of feeding people became something more — it became an inspiration to end hunger by creating nutritious shelf stable meals.
In 2018, after months researching packaging processes and developing delicious recipes for nutritious pre-cooked meals, Chef Doherty launched Heavenly HARVST Foundation, a 501(c)(3)) that addresses food insecurity. Since then, the foundation has prepared and delivered hundreds of thousands of meals to food banks serving children and adults across 10 U.S. cities, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in disaster relief efforts nationwide.
Now Chef Doherty has launched Hope Kitchen, the only prepackaged retail meal delivery company founded to support a mission to address food insecurity.
A portion of every purchase supports Heavenly HARVST Foundation.
What We Do
For individuals, or anyone who needs to feed a crowd.
All Meals are Held to the Highest Standards
Who We Serve
Emergency Food Relief
- Disaster Response
- Displacement Assistance
Hope Kitchen provides meals at a critical time for individuals and their communities that can be heated off-site or eaten from the carton if necessary allowing the meals to be offered to people on short term notice in almost any situation.
Federal, State and Local
- Community Centers
- Food Banks
- Military
- Schools
We work with various government organizations to provide healthy meals with 20 grams of protein and under 600 milligrams of sodium that can be served in almost any setting.
Home Bound
- Patient Recovery
- Senior Citizens
Our nutritional meals can be served to those at home in recovery or saved for when one can't get to the store or receive a delivery.
Reserve Supply
- Hospitals
- Prisons
Hope Kitchen's ability to offer 24 month shelf stable meals which can be densely packed and stored is vital to any organization that needs a seven day (or more) reserve supply for emergency situations.
We can tailor bulk / wholesale orders to fit your organization's specific needs.
How We Do It
Our Team
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN
John Doherty
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, John began his career at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City in 1978, and quickly moved up the ranks to the role of Executive Chef at the age of 27 where he held that position for 23 years. Throughout those years, he has cooked for more Kings, Presidents, and Heads of State, than any other Chef. He authored The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook, and received the prestigious James Beard Silver Spoon Award.
With a keen desire to focus on quality ingredients sourced from local purveyors, John opened Black Barn Restaurant in the NoMad section of New York City in September of 2015. Although preparing meals for Presidents and Dignitaries was inspiring, Doherty responded to a higher calling with a desire to feed those in need so, he founded Heavenly HARVST Foundation in 2015 and HARVST PBC in 2019 through which he is determined to make a positive impact on hunger globally.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Mark Friedman
Mark has more than 30 years of experience in the consumer industry as an Entrepreneur, Manager, Research Analyst, and Strategic Advisor. Mark co-founded The Retail in 2006. The Retail Tracker offers strategic advisory, fundamental market research and consulting services on the consumer and retail sectors. During this period, he also had short term operational roles with Roots the Canadian based retailer and HB Home a home interior designer.
During his two decades as a Senior Research Analyst at Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs he was consistently ranked as one of best analysts in three different sectors- Advertising, Apparel/Footwear and Specialty Retail. He was also a Group Head managing a 17 person team of Retail Analysts. Mark served on the Board of publicly traded Iconix, and on the private board of Roots. Mark received an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Marni Shapiro
Marni has more than 30 years of experience in the consumer and retail industry as an Entrepreneur, Merchant, Manager, and Research Analyst. Marni co-founded The Retail Tracker in 2006. Marni help to differentiate The Retail Tracker by spending significant time in the stores and with industry executives to evaluate the marketplace and deliver the necessary insight to help its clients be successful.
During her 11 years at Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers she covered Apparel, Footwear and the Specialty Retail sectors and has been ranked by the Wall Street Journal Analyst Survey. Marni also worked for five years in the apparel industry. As a Vice President of sales for 525…America, she developed and grew their Home Furnishings business. Previously, she was a senior account executive at Fenn Wright Manson, a women’s and men’s clothing concern. Marni was a Board Member and Former President of Trends, a consumer industry association. Marni received an M.B.A from NYU and received a B.S. from the University of Michigan.