Who We Are
Chef John Doherty spent 23 years as Executive Chef
at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City feeding presidents, heads of states , celebrities and VIPs. While opening his own restaurant, BlackBarn in New York City, he heard a calling to end hunger by creating delicious and nutritious meals for those in need. Inspired by Uncle Ben's Ready-Cook Rice, he spent months researching packaging processes and developing delicious and nutritious pre-cooked meals as only a chef truly can.. Satisfied he had created something special he launched Heavenly HARVST Foundation.
John launched the Heavenly HARVST Foundation with the plan to feed people who struggle to buy food. The Foundation has made thousands of meals and delivered them to people in major cities over the years. During this time John realized that these same meals could provide a solution to organizations that could benefit by distributing these meals to their constituents.
Hope Kitchen was born
What We Do
Hope Kitchen provides flavorful and nutritious precooked meals in Tetra-Pak® Cartons to organizations, institutions, schools and others who need alternative ways to feed their members. These meals are shelf stable and can be heated on location or offered to take away and consume at another time.
We make meals that are:
Chef Created Recipes
From the heart of a world renowned Chef with great taste, high protein and reduced sodium.
Shelf Stable and Versatile
24 month shelf life in Tetra-Pak® Cartons
Ready to Eat
Microwave or skillet in 90 seconds.
Real Ingredients
Meets or exceeds USDA and CDC nutritional requirements. No artificial ingredients or preservatives
and All Meals are Held to the Highest Standards
Meet CDC
Guidelines for Nutrition
At least
20g of
Protein
Vegetarian
& Other
Options
Customizable
Orders
Dependent on Order Volume
Who We Serve
Reserve
Supply
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 certain organizations that need a seven day or more reserve supply for emergency situations.
Federal, State
and Local
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
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.
Emergency
Food Relief
Emergency
Food Relief
• Disaster Response
• Displacement
Assistance
Hope Kitchen provides meals at a critical time for individuals and their communities that can easily be heated remotely and offered to people on short term notice.
How We Do It
Throughout his world class career, Chef John has strived for excellence. This commitment has been fundamental in his approach to meal development and production process. Chef John spent significant time working with nutritionists and technicians to formulate healthy and tasty meals packaged in convenient
Tetra-Pak® Cartons. This ensures that every meal tastes great without sacrificing the nutritional integrity.
​
We achieve shelf stable meals by cooking the food in Tetra-Pak® Containers until sterilized.
During manufacturing there are various quality control stages in place to maintain the high-quality standards Chef John has set for the meals. This process offers tremendous flexibility in how your organization can transport, store and prepare our meals.
State of the Art Process
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Our Team
John Doherty
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN
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.
Mark Friedman
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
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.
Marni Shapiro
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
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.