“I love making food that makes people happy. I don’t compete with other chefs I compete with myself and am constantly evolving to be the best version of myself. This has led me to do what is best for the guests of my restaurants,” said famed New York City chef, Franklin Becker.
With over 30 years of culinary experience acclaimed Chef, Co-Founder, and CEO of The Hospitality Dept. based out of the Martinique Hotel and featuring over 260 employees just in hospitality, Chef Becker and and his partner Stephen Loffredo are not slowing down. Committed to the room service and banqueting for the hotel, Becker’s love for cooking the perfect steak is the focus of the hotel’s staple restaurant the Press Club. The Press Club is an homage to the “Mad Men” era and features signature dishes like beef wellington and duck a l’orange.
“One of my signature items at the Press Club is the steak where I rest it in a warm bath of clarified butter, herbs and garlic. When the steak comes off the grill it rests in the butter producing a Sous Vide effect allowing the meat to relax without losing any of its moisture. Then putting it back under the broiler, it caramelizes and creates the perfect crunchy bits on top of the steak allowing for that perfect beautiful crust,” said Chef Becker.
Celebrity Chef Becker is very technique driven. Through all his restaurants and entrepreneurial ventures, his goal has always been to enhance the main ingredient, whatever it might be, meat, poultry, fish or vegetable. Becker has focused on providing the supporting ingredients to highlight his main dish. He affirms that his food is clean and all flavors do not mask the beauty of the dish, but create an exciting enhancement to the product’s natural flavor.
Chef Becker, born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and forged a pathway for himself in the culinary world as executive chef of Capitale, one of the best new restaurants in America in 2003. In 2009, he became the Corporate Executive Chef of the EMM Group which later became the Catch Group. Here, he created the legendary reputation of excellence for well-known restaurants (Abe and Arthurs, Lexington Brass and Catch). A natural born talent, competing only with himself for focused artistry, Becker was the winner of Burger Bash in 2011 at the Annual N.Y. Food and Wine Festival. Here he perfected the winning and best tasting burger using a carefully crafted blend of short rib, chuck and brisket along with a legendary burger sauce combining seven different condiments for flavor. In addition, his warmth, personality, and charisma were seen through his participation in Bravo’s Top Chef Masters television show in 2013.
Currently, the chef has four fast casual restaurants at Manhattanville Market on Columbia University’s Graduate school campus. Shai, an Israeli restaurant at the market is known for their incredible hummus and all food is fresh including the pita made from scratch. Coming soon is Universal Taco, a new Mexican style dining experience. Becker’s entrepreneurial vision in hospitality allowed him to understand the vacuum in food options from 125th to 138th Street. He filled this void for the Columbia University district with an international affordable market for students and the public.
Point Seven located at the MetLife Building at 200 Park Ave is Becker’s baby producing mouthwatering seafood dishes, surf and turf varieties, and more. His Bento by Point Seven serves fast casual sushi selections.
He is soon opening cocktail bar Bronze Owl in March, featuring cocktails by celebrated bartender, Max Green, and serving small Italian bites by Chef Dan Drohan.
In addition, Becker is set to open a new doughnut shop called Sweet Graffiti with famed pastry chef Sam Mason. A versatile chef, his high-end restaurants and fast-casual dining have solidified him as a master of the kitchen.
At the age of 27 Becker was diagnosed with diabetes. As an entrepreneur with an eye for vision, Becker created the Little Beet and Hungry Root, a vegetarian-friendly restaurant and an online grocery store with veggie forward menus. Using herbs and experimentation, Becker learned how to cook clean and provide healthy flavors to the table.
Having a son with autism, Becker understands all avenues of eating for better health. Taking his son to music therapy at NYU’s Nordoff Robbins Center for Music Therapy, he learned they needed help. A visionary not just in the kitchen, Becker created a fundraiser to help save the music school, which was devoted to helping his son. Raising over half a million dollars with other chefs, the Nordoff Robbins Center was saved. This led the founders of Autism Speaks, Bob and Suzanne Wright to work with Becker as a consistent force in raising awareness for Autism. It was then that the Autism Speaks to Wall Street Celebrity Chefs Gala was created. Through the Chef’s Gala, Becker has helped to raise over 20 million dollars to support Autism Speaks. Becker has been able to bring in other celebrity chefs like Andrew Zimmern, Masaharu Morimoto, Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Waxman and Marc Vetri to be advocates for the Gala and cause.
As a leader in culinary cuisine Chef Franklin Becker has always been committed to giving back to the people, not just through his hospitality company or restaurant concepts, but through philanthropy.
“Yes, I have competed on Iron Chef, Knife Fight, and Top Chef Masters. It is never about competition with others. As I always emphasize, competing with oneself to be your strongest self is the only form of competition one needs to succeed. On Top Chef Masters it was about the camaraderie. We were all seasoned veterans and really established. I played for Autism Speaks as we were all playing for charity,” said Becker.
Helping people and other chefs has always been a part of Becker’s vision. Recognizing new generations of talent in the culinary world and other successful businesses have kept Becker on the forefront as a leader for all chefs in the industry.
Becker’s friend and former sous chef Chris Scott was a contestant on Top Chef Season 15. He was a finalist and had a restaurant in Brooklyn called Butterfunk. Due to high rents the restaurant closed. Becker backed Scott creating Butterfunk Biscuit Co. located currently in the Manhattanville Market. This fourth-generation family recipe developed by Chris lives on, bringing Southern and Pennsylvania Dutch food combinations to the public.
Becker and Loffredo have also backed Robby Cook, one of Morimoto’s right-hand chefs, in Coral, a 10-seat omakase restaurant hidden within Point Seven. Becker has helped multiple chefs throughout the years, understanding that the culinary industry is about comradery and teamwork not competition. As a father in and out of the kitchen, and to the next generation of chefs, his diversified fine-dining and fast casual restaurants solidify Chef Franklin Becker’s reputation. Having evolved from being named “one of New York’s Rising Star Chefs” in 2006, today in 2024, he is a philanthropist, culinary leader and visionary. He uses his entrepreneurial spirit and goals to bring new and excellent culinary concepts to defining American cuisine.
