News & Events
Celebrity Chef Michael Lomonaco Honored as ‘Alum of the Year’
From left: Alumni Relations Director Helen Covington, Celebrity Chef Michael Lomonaco '84, Alumni Association President Yvonne Riley-Tepie '92 and City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler. Photo credit: Arpi Pap/CUNY.
Celebrity chef Michael Lomonaco was honored as the “Alum of the Year” at the annual meeting of the City Tech Alumni Association held September 19. More than 100 association members, City Tech students, faculty, staff and administrators, and other guests joined in the salute.
A 1984 graduate of City Tech’s award-winning hospitality management program, Lomonaco was chosen last year by Time Warner Center to run Porter House New York, a new restaurant in the space left vacant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s V Steakhouse, which closed in late 2005. Following a multi-million dollar renovation by acclaimed designer Jeffrey Beers, the new 225-seat, grill-style restaurant opened in September 2006 and became an instant success.
"Thank you for bestowing on me this great honor, which means a lot coming from a College that has graduated some of New York's best and brightest," Lomonaco said, accepting the award. "I am humbled to be in their company, and will do everything in my power to make City Tech and my fellow alumni proud. I plan to continue to live up to the great standards they have set."
Last year's winner of the "Alum of the Year" award was Larry Felix '80, director of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Previous recipients have included Julia V. Jordan '82, founder of Days of Taste, president/founder, Spoons Across America, and executive assistant to the dean of professional studies at City Tech (2003); Octavio Arena '78, account manager, Metropolitan Data Solutions (2004); and Allen Wolf, accountant, City Tech's Business Office and an adjunct lecturer in the College's business department (2005).
Following graduation, Lomonaco’s career took him to several of the city’s top restaurants, including Le Cirque, Maxwell’s Plum, 21 Club and Windows on the World. At Windows, he helped transform the acclaimed establishment into the highest grossing restaurant in America. Earlier, as executive chef at The 21 Club, he achieved similar results.
Lomonaco was chef/director at Windows on 9/11, when his life was spared by a spur-of-the-moment decision to delay stepping into a World Trade Center elevator and instead to visit the building’s below street level optical shop. In the aftermath of that tragic day, he co-founded the Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund with restaurateur and Windows owner David Emil and fellow chefs Waldy Malouf and Tom Valenti. Lomonaco later joined with Emil in creating the Latin-theme restaurant Noche in Manhattan’s Theatre District. After Noche, Lomonaco took over the kitchen at popular Guastavino’s on Manhattan’s East Side.
In 2002, Lomonco was named Visiting Distinguished Professor of Hospitality Management at City Tech, where he conducted master classes in the culinary arts and delivered guest lectures in various courses for several semesters. He currently serves on the City Tech Foundation board of directors and chairs its Special Events Committee. In addition to serving for several years as master of ceremonies at the College’s annual scholarship fundraising dinner, he helped City Tech raise more than $2 million from various public and private sources toward the renovation of the its main culinary arts teaching kitchen and environs.
Lomonaco is co-author of The 21 Cookbook and Nightly Specials: 125 Recipes for Spontaneous, Creative Cooking at Home.He attracted a national following as host of “Michael’s
Place” on the Food Network and currently co-hosts the Travel Channel’s highly popular food show “Epicurious.” He used City Tech’s main teaching kitchen to tape segments for “Sizzling Summer Chefs,” a Discovery Channel series that he co-hosted several years ago.
9/24/07
