An Evening with Alon Shaya and Aspiring New Orleans Chefs

The Shaya Barnett Foundation is proud to launch its second fundraiser benefiting the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC). Our first fundraiser, held in October 2022, brought in $100,000 which helped furnish NOCC’s new culinary lab with state-of-the-art kitchen tools and appliances. Our second event, An Evening with Alon Shaya and aspiring New Orleans Chefs, will be held on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 6pm at Saba in New Orleans.

NOCC’s Culinary Arts program has doubled in size in our new home. Costs for curriculum, food and cooking supplies, uniforms, and dual enrollment/early college at Nunez (part of this program) have also doubled. You equipped the facility, now you can help us grow the program further. By supporting this event, you will help transform the way career and technical education is delivered in New Orleans.

NOCC is the only training hub of its kind in our city, and with our help, it will continue to make a positive impact in young folks' lives. At NOCC, trainees from over 20 different charter schools gain a head start in their passion, whether that lies in the culinary arts, healthcare, building trades, engineering or digital media.

This project is especially near and dear to Chef Alon. At age 16 career and technical education forever changed his life and helped him find his career path. With our help, NOCC can do the same for young peopleacross New Orleans.

Tickets are now available for purchase on Eventbrite and all proceeds support the trainees of the NOCC’s Culinary Program. Please feel free to spread the news and invite family, friends, and colleagues to support!

A tax receipt can be provided by the Shaya Barnett Foundation for all donations towards this event.

About the:

Shaya Barnett Foundation is committed to providing culinary education and resources to high school students. Through hands-on curriculum, students are able to gain the real-world skills necessary to gain experience and employment in the ever-growing culinary and hospitality industry. Ultimately, the goal is to prepare high school students to head off to secondary education or into the workforce as hospitality professionals with the proper credentials. New Orleans is known all over the world for great food, lodging, and hospitality. Through partnerships with programs like The New Orleans Career Center, The Shaya Barnett Foundation can help to prepare the community to be ready to meet the growing demands of locals and visitors, and really make a lasting impact in the life of a student.

About the:

Since opening in 2018, the New Orleans Career Center has prepared more than 1,700 high school students for careers in high-growth industries and to be lifelong learners. More than 300 adults have earned the Patient Care Technician certification and gained immediate employment. NOCC connects Orleans Parish high school students and adults with clear pathways to high-demand, high-wage careers in healthcare, building trades, engineering, hospitality, and digital media.

About Alon Shaya:

Born in Israel, raised in Philadelphia, and a proud New Orleanian, Alon Shaya has always had a deep love and appreciation for food and the singular way restaurants anchor their communities. In 2017, he and his wife, Emily, founded Pomegranate Hospitality; the following year, its flagship, Saba (Hebrew for “grandpa”), opened in New Orleans and its companion restaurant, Safta (Hebrew for “grandma”), arrived in Denver. Both restaurants focus on a journey through food and beverage, paying homage to the culinary landscape of Israel, and have been met with critical acclaim; in 2023, Michelin recommended Safta in its first Colorado guide.

In 2021, Pomegranate Hospitality partnered with Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans to introduce Miss River, Alon’s “love letter to Louisiana,” and Chandelier Bar. Silan at Atlantis Paradise Island opened in 2023, the group’s first international venture. Spring 2024 marked the debut of Safta 1964 at Wynn Las Vegas, a limited-run residency and the prequel to Safta.

Alon, a two-time James Beard Foundation Award winner, was named “Best Chef: South” in 2015; his restaurant won “Best New Restaurant” the following year. He has been named one of the “50 People Who Are Changing the South” by Southern Living and one of the “50 Most Influential Jews in America” by The Forward. An active philanthropist, he co-founded the Shaya Barnett Foundation, which provides culinary education and resources to high school students, and spearheaded the Rescued Recipes initiative with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has raised over $700,000 to date. He is also the author of Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel.

When he’s not working, Alon loves to spend time with his wife Emily, daughter Ruth, and dog Ceci. He enjoys traveling for new food experiences around the world, playing tennis, and fly fishing.

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If you cannot make the event but still want to support New Orleans Career Center, you can donate via .

Host or Publisher The Shaya Barnett Foundation