Humanitarian Award A Toast to a Genuine Humanitarian Drew Nieporent honored at Toast to Humanity Inaugural Wine Celebration Drew Nieporent is the energetic owner of Montrachet, Tribeca Grill, Rubicon, Layla, TriBakery, Nobu, Nobu London, Next Door Nobu, HeartBeat, Steelhead Grill, Earth & Ocean, Icon, Lucca, Pulse, and The Coach House. A 1977 graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Management, Nieporent started his career in management at New York City Co’s Maxwell’s Plum and Tavern On The Green. His restaurants have received countless awards. A mere sampling: Montrachet earned kudos for Outstanding Service and Outstanding Wine Service from the James Beard Foundation (1995). Nobu won the Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 1995. Tribeca Grill has been hailed as one of the Fifty Best Restaurants in America by CondNast Traveler, and won a coveted Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions (1998). Rubicon won Wine Spectator Grand Award (1998). Earth & Ocean’s Johnathan Sundstrom was named Best Chef by Food & Wine (2001). Drew’s many personal honors include induction into Who’s Who of Cooking in America (1992), Man Of The Year from The Food & Beverage Association (1993), the Gates Of Jerusalem Medal from Israel Bonds (1994), the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award (2000), DiRoNA’s Extra Plate Humanitarian Award (2000), and Restaurateur of the Year from Bon Appetit Magazine (2000). He has been the subject of major profile stories in the New York Times, Wine Spectator, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal and San Francisco Chronicle. There have also been numerous television appearances such as Charlie Rose, CNN Business Unusual and Good Morning America. Drew serves as a Director of the American Institute of Wine and Food, and as a guest lecturer at Cornell University. He donates his time to special events for dozens of charities. He has co-chaired Share Our Strengths Taste of the Nation event in New York City since 1997. He was the guest of honor for the American Heart Associations Chefs With Heart Dinner in October 1999, and is now serving his 9th year as Culinary Chair for the Momentum AIDS Project. Bonnie Skop, Vice Chairman of Toast to Humanity stated, “We had heard of Drew’s selfless efforts to provide and carry hot meals door to door to people in Lower Manhattan in the weeks following the September 11th tragedy. There were many that came forward during that time of need, yet Drew seemed to exemplify their efforts. It seemed a natural that Drew should become our first Humanitarian Award recipient and we are very proud to honor him.” © 2006 Toast To Humanity | All Rights Reserved | info@toasttohumanity.com | Website designed by Aegis