Erik Grinberg, Chef Manager

Erik Grinberg is excited to lead Abraham Joshua Heschel School’s dining service program as Chef Manager. Prior to joining Cater To You In 2018, Erik put his culinary arts background to use in fine dining. He spent almost a decade at locales such as Per Se, Le Coucou, Le Bernardin, and the Waldorf Astoria hotel. His background is in classic French cuisine, event planning and logistics, and steakhouse-style cooking. He trained with chefs Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, and Daniel Rose, and had his start as a pastry chef in an Italian bistro. Most recently, he served as Chef Manager at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School.

From a young age, Chef Erik cooked at home for his family. When he received the opportunity to cook professionally, he realized how much he truly enjoyed it. Now, at The Heschel School, Erik gets great satisfaction from seeing how much the students enjoy lunch, and from serving from-scratch, healthy options to the community.

Chef Erik is originally from Israel, though most of his cooking is inspired by French technique. If you are lucky enough to taste one of Chef Erik’s meals, you may, however, notice substantial Middle Eastern spices and aromatics, which he believes brings new and exciting zest to dishes. His favorite meal to prepare is the one that the person he is feeding has requested. His gratification comes from seeing the people around him enjoy what he made.

When he is not busy in the kitchen, he loves a good donut from Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He is a devotee of health and fitness and spends much of his free time doing cardio, power lifting, and exploring new and interesting historic spots in his area. He looks forward every summer to spending time taking martial arts classes in Krav Maga.