10/16/2026
Swipe through to meet the speakers, and a very special honouree, who will be joining us for Neuberger HEW 2026 opening night, Memories of a Good Meal.
Alon Shaya is the multiple James Beard Award-winning chef and cofounder of Pomegranate Hospitality. He was born in Israel, raised in Philadelphia, and is now a proud New Orleanian. His food spans continents and cultures, from his modern Israeli restaurants Saba (New Orleans) and Safta (Denver) to Safta’s Table (New Orleans), a neighborhood Mediterranean all-day café. His restaurants Saba and Safta have both been recognized by the esteemed Michelin Guide as some of the best restaurants in their respective cities.
In 2021, Alon spearheaded the Rescued Recipes initiative with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, based on his collaboration and deep friendship with the Holocaust survivor Steven Fenves. To date, Rescued Recipes has raised over a million dollars. A passionate philanthropist, he also co-founded the Shaya Barnett Foundation with his mentor and high school home economics teacher, Donna Barnett, to provide culinary education and resources to high school students.
Alon is also the co-author of Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel, a memoir-style cookbook exploring his personal journey of survival and culinary discovery.
He has been recognized by Southern Living as one of the “50 People Who Are Changing the South” and by The Forward as one of the “50 Most Influential Jews in America.” He lives in New Orleans with his family.
Bonny Reichert is a National Magazine Award-winning journalist. She has been an editor at Today’s Parent and Chatelaine, and a columnist and regular contributor to The Globe and Mail. When she turned forty, she left the magazine world to enroll in culinary school. After that, she began to examine her relationship with food on the page, seeing her childhood in the restaurant business and her background as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor in a new light. A mother of three, Bonny lives in Toronto with her husband Michael.
She holds a Master of Fine Art in creative nonfiction from the University of King’s College in Halifax and teaches writing at the Univ
