2014 Press Kit - Neuman`s Kitchen

2014
Press Kit
Deliciously Inspired is more than a tag line at Neuman’s Kitchen, it is at the heart of their
success. A vital part of the New York culinary scene for over three decades, Neuman’s
Kitchen (www.neumanskitchen.com) has flourished thanks to its seasoned event planning
and chefs who combine a pinch of psychology, a dash of humor and a large serving of
creativity to deliver on the Deliciously Inspired promise.
President Paul Neuman, a visual artist (www.paulneumanartist.com) and the fourth-generation
of his family in the food business in New York, co-founded the company in 1981 as Neuman
& Bogdonoff, a retail store on the Upper East Side.
Now located on the Lower East Side and focused exclusively on catering, Neuman’s Kitchen
is one of the few major NYC caterers producing bespoke food in Manhattan (with over
100+ employees). Paul Neuman says, “We started this business to live at the intersection of
food, art and commerce. Our mission to delight, inspire and be inspired has not changed.”
Hip but Never Haughty
Executive Chef Julian Alonzo is passionate about his food.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Alonzo honed
his skills in fine dining establishments including Manhattan’s
La Caravelle, Le Chantilly, The Sea Grill, and Restaurant 8 1/2
(learning alongside chefs David Bouley, David Ruggerio, Guy
Savoy and more). Says Chef Julian Alonzo, “The joy of our
business is to start each day handling the freshest ingredients
and then to have the privilege of transforming them into
Deliciously Inspired cuisine designed to make an emotional
connection with our guests.”
Pastry Chef Martin Howard is known for imaginative and
flavorful desserts. Howard was named one of the country’s top
ten pastry chefs two years in row by Chocolatier and Pastry
Art and Design magazines, and is a James Beard Foundation
baking competition winner.
Neuman’s Kitchen is recognized for its seasonality and
adherence to a locavore philosophy - highlighting local
bounty whenever possible, using sustainable ingredients and
baking, smoking, cooking and fabricating much of the menu
from scratch.
A Beautiful Event
is in the Details
When The International Interior Design Association hosted
a circus-themed cocktail party in 2013 for 1,000 designers,
architects and industry partners, they turned to Neuman’s
Kitchen as their culinary partner for the fifth consecutive year.
With acrobatic precision and boundless creativity, the Neuman’s
Kitchen team created circus tableaus, stations and props that
included a variety of unique passing trays in white & red, trapeze
ladder food displays, calamari jester hats, trays of edible juggler’s
balls and bacon-flavored donuts. The event was unforgettable
- filled with excitement, energy and entertainment – exactly
as the organizers envisioned. Unique design and innovative
food blended harmoniously to deliver an exceptional event.
Demanding
organizations
trust
Neuman’s
Kitchen
to
communicate their most important messages. Top New
York City accounting firms, universities, not-for-profits and
tech companies count on Neuman’s Kitchen for employee
breakfasts, client lunches and full-service dinners, galas
and cocktail parties. When the message is critical and the
medium includes food, Neuman’s Kitchen is the source.
Weddings to Remember
Whether hosting your intimate affair at a Brooklyn brownstone, a gathering
for hundreds at your country estate or a fairytale wedding in a penthouse
overlooking the Hudson, choosing your venue and caterer are highly personal
choices. Neuman’s Kitchen’s wedding specialists provide expert guidance to
make the most complex wedding unforgettable. From wedding banquets to
customized menus featuring old family recipes, Neuman’s Kitchen is the choice
for catering that will deliver an emotional connection that your guests will be
talking about for years to come.
Venue
&
Service Resources
Neuman’s Kitchen’s venue portfolio includes special
event, cultural, conference and weddings venues
ranging from paneled townhouses to one-of-a-kind,
off-beat lofts and rooftops. Known for attentive,
attractive and intelligent service team members,
clients and guests often remark about how Neuman’s
Kitchen’s servers enhanced their experience.
Hands on in the Community
Giving back to their community is deep in the Neuman’s Kitchen DNA.
For over 30 years they have made weekly donations to a soup kitchen,
regularly donated meals to a number of not-for-profits and contributed
to The HOPE Program, a Brooklyn based organization that alleviates
poverty by providing employment and training services for underserved
New Yorkers. Neuman’s Kitchen works with the The Exploring Group by
providing guidance and experiential learning for high school students
interested in understanding entrepreneurship and food production and
service.
Paul Neuman, President, currently serves as The HOPE Program’s Chairman
of the Board of Directors and is a Past President of the NY Metro Chapter
of ISES, The International Special Events Society as well as the EANYC,
The Executives Association of New York City. He is a regular speaker at
the Coalition for the Homeless’ First Step Program, mentors High School
students through The Exploring Group and has received numerous awards
for his dedication to community service.
Paul Neuman
Founder and President
Artist, entrepreneur, visionary, foodie, lifelong New Yorker,
dad - just a few words that describe Paul Neuman, Founder
and President of Neuman’s Kitchen, a landmark on the New
York catering and special event landscape for over 32 years.
Paul Neuman thrives at the intersection of food and art, both,
which have played an integral role for his entire life. Born in
1954 in New York City, he is the fourth generation of a family
involved in feeding New Yorkers. His great grandfather, Sandel
Lowenthal, was a chef and restaurant owner in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. His grandfather Cornelius and father
Robert owned and operated the Rosedale Fish Market on the
Upper East Side from 1906 until 2003.
As a young man, Neuman attended Goddard College to
work in their design-build program. He then attended Alfred
University where gradually gravitated toward wood and steel
fabricated sculpture. Almost forty years later Neuman still
draws much of his inspiration from all things artistic and as
he says “making art is my most fundamental expression of
optimism.”
Neuman applied this aesthetic flair to his own food company
that began as Neuman & Bogdonoff, an artisanal retail food
purveyor he opened on the Upper East Side with former
partner Stacy Bogdonoff in 1981. By 1996 the company had
moved down to Chrystie Street (at a time when the Lower
East Side was still a culinary desert of Manhattan) to focus
on catering. Taking the company on his own in 2006, he
later rebranded it as Neuman’s Kitchen in 2012 to reflect that
change. Today, the company employs a staff of 100+ and
is one of the few NYC caterers remaining that does their
production in Manhattan.
Julian Alonzo
Executive Chef
Julian Alonzo, Neuman’s Kitchen’s award winning Executive
Chef is passionate about his food, bringing his extensive fine
dining experience to his new role in the catering world. As
the leader of a crew of up to 60 kitchen staff, his superb
culinary skills have taken Neuman’s Kitchen to a new level of
quality.
Julian credits his Panamanian mom with igniting his love for
cooking as a teenager. Raised in Greenwich Village, by the
time he was in high school he was working full-time under
Chef David Bouley at Montrachet. After high school he
attended the French Culinary Institute by day and worked
under the watchful eye of Chef David Ruggiero at La
Caravelle by night. It was clear that a life immersed in fine
“The joy of our business is to start each day
handling the freshest, most beautiful ingredients
dining was his destiny.
Julian followed Ruggiero to Maxim’s and then set off on an
and then to have the privilege of transforming them
extended period of globetrotting, working in Paris at Michelin
into Deliciously Inspired cuisine designed to make an
three starred Guy Savoy and Bistro L’Etoile. Returning to
emotional connection with our guests.”
New York he enjoyed top positions at The Sea Grill and
- Chef Julian Alonzo
Café Centro before taking the helm of Restaurant 8 1/2 for 14
years, where as executive chef he supervised the 250 seat
restaurant as well as catering and private events.
He has also been the recipient of multiple awards, including
Chef of the Year from Patina Restaurant Group, and Alumni
Chef of the Year from the French Culinary Institute. The
various restaurants at which Julian has held the Executive
Chef position have enjoyed substantial critical acclaim, as
well as business success.
Today at Neuman’s Kitchen Chef Julian oversees all culinary
activities, imparting his vision into all aspects of the cuisine.
“I take pride in 100 % performance. We are constantly refining our processes to make
sure we always exceed our client‘s expectations. No matter how large or small, simple
or complicated, every client is entitled to the same attention to detail. I am proud when
we ‘wow’ our clients and even prouder when their guests recognize how exceptional
the event was.” - Kevin Ramsawack
Kevin Ramsawack
Director of Events
Kevin Ramsawack, Director of Events, is one of Neuman’s
Kitchen’s cultural leaders and among the most successful
catering planners in New York City. Having risen through the
ranks from production to a senior sales position over fifteen
years, Kevin understands as well as anyone in the company
what it takes to deliver on the Deliciously Inspired promise.
Kevin produces many of Neuman’s Kitchen’s most
sophisticated events, including those at such high profile
venues as Lincoln Center and The New York Public Library.
Kevin learned the event producing craft by working along
side chefs, planners and event captains on a wide variety of
events.
Kevin has been instrumental in the execution of Neuman’s
Kitchen’s most complex and demanding daily culinary
programs. Among his projects was an account that provided
lunch for 825 guests per day for two years and a current
program that has served 320 guests per day for the past
seven years.
Martin Howard
Pastry Chef
Award-winning Pastry Chef Martin Howard joined Neuman’s
Kitchen in 2013 where he creates some of Manhattan’s most
scrumptious confections for catered events large and small.
Raised by a mother who loved to bake he says he just couldn’t
help but join in the fun. From there he became a student at
the Culinary Institute of America where he discovered pastry
to be his true calling. Following graduation in 1989, Howard
enjoyed excellent real-world training from teachers like Albert
Kumin in Bedford Hills and Waldy Malouf at La Cremaillère in
Banksville and later the Hudson River Club where he helped
Waldy open at the World Financial Center.
Howard struck out on his own in 1997 to become the executive
pastry chef at the Rainbow Room. 2001 marked the year that
Martin joined Restaurant Associates (now Patina Restaurant
Group) to be pastry chef at Brasserie and Brasserie 8 1/2. In
2009, Martin found another passion besides the kitchen and
introduced Chocolatina, Queen of the Dessert - a drag persona
with her own tasty cabaret act.
His fabulous creations have been called “a fantasy” by New
York Magazine and “a wow” by Crain’s New York Business.
Martin along with Pablo Cartaya is the author of storybook/
cookbook called Tina Cocolina: Queen of the Cupcakes,
published by Random House, featuring Tina Cocolina, a little
cupcake girl in search of her topping.
Martin’s additional awards and accolades include winning
the James Beard Foundation baking competition, and as the
“People’s Choice Award” honoree, he baked the grand birthday
cake for the annual James Beard Birthday celebration. He has
won the Domaine Carneros Wedding Cake Competition, “Let
Them Eat Cake” and recently the Country Music Celebrity Cake
competition partnered with Julie Roberts. Martin has made
many TV appearances including, FoodNation with Bobby Flay,
Food Network Challenge, Travel Channel, CBS, Today Show,
Good Morning America and more. He is also on the advisory
board for the annual Chocolate Show.
Testimonials
“BRAVO on a beautiful night. The Burden Mansion is an incredible building and the love inside those
walls tonight was tremendous. The linens by Cloth Connection, food by Neuman’s Kitchen, music
by DJ Mario, photography by Arthur Cohen, set-up by Dana and Sandi and apparel finding by Angela
was priceless. Our children and their families danced and ate the night away while dressed in style.
From all our children, their families and me.....we love you. Dreams came true tonight!” - Ronald
McDonald House
“The Neuman’s Kitchen team has always gone above and beyond what we ever expect of them on
site. It starts from comprehensive planning, through flawless execution, and onto amazing service
and collaboration with our staff here in the office. We receive nothing but praise and compliments
from our staff and participants every time your team is in our office. We know that our requests
are not always easy, but somehow your team always pulls through. Our Hospitality team could
not be as successful as we are without your wonderful staff. The Neuman’s Kitchen crew really is
our extended family and we thank our lucky stars for them every single day! So on behalf of the
Hospitality Team, we just wanted to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. :)” - World
Economic Forum
“The service staff was seamless. The attention to detail was apparent throughout the entire night.
There are so many people in your staff to thank from the runners to the servers to the captains.
People were raving about the food especially the cheesecake lollipop, lobster roll and candy station.
All the hard work and planning paid off as the candy station was a great show piece. Neuman’s
Kitchen did a wonderful job on Tuesday night.” - Ernst & Young
“Neuman’s Kitchen catered our wedding in a beautiful white columned loft in SoHo. Paul and his
party planner treated us as like kings and catered the most beautiful & delicious affair. One guest
commented that the buffet “was like a trip around the world.” I will never forget how elegant it
looked and how tasty everything was. We had a cold buffet of small, bite- size food. The staff was
so courteous. The wine was poured, the guests, mingled, the tables looked simple but, elegant. Paul
is a great guy. His staff is WONDERFUL. I only wish my Husband & I had been guests at our party
so, we could have eaten more of everything. I did eat one of the mini-cupcakes for dessert. I still
dream about it. I really do. I can’t praise Neuman’s Kitchen highly enough. - Robbin Brosterman (Bride)
I just wanted to let you know how much I have appreciated everything you and your team have
done for us this year. You truly are amazing and there is no one else we trust than you!! The food
was amazing and the staff was the best!! They were very professional and very kind and down
to earth! I highly recommend your company!! Thank everyone who attended our event yesterday,
they made it very memorable!! - NYU
Neuman’s Kitchen
www.Neumanskitchen.com
Hours of Operation:
Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm
*Weekends upon request
203 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
212-228-2444
Press Inquiries:
Danielle Zaria Praport
Danielle@zariapr.com
Michelle Gralitzer
michelle@mlgpublications.com