John Doherty

While attending the Culinary Institute of America, John Doherty had one dream, “I hoped someday I would be good enough to work at the Waldorf.”  To make that dream come true, when it was time for his externship, Doherty summoned-up his courage to request a meeting with the hotel’s executive chef.  “I told him I would do anything, peel potatoes, swab floors – anything! My enthusiasm won him over; he said yes right away.”  Subsequently, the CIA student voted most likely to succeed, made good on that promise. Doherty did just about anything and everything in The Waldorf-Astoria’s vast kitchens as he worked his way through the ranks, from extern to cook, saucier to sous chef, finally in 1985 to become the youngest executive chef in the hotel’s illustrious culinary history. He was just 27 years old.

“I was lucky to have been trained by chefs who had been here for decades, real masters of haute cuisine.  They taught me to focus on detail, simplicity and flavor.”  Those lessons were re-enforced by Doherty’s European training.  As a young cook he performed stages at several of the Continent’s two- and-three-star Michelin restaurants, including Georges Blanc in Macon.

As he refined his gastronomic talents, Doherty developed the other skills necessary to oversee the Waldorf’s enormous food operation (an average of 3,000 meals daily with annual sales of $47 million), including a special facility for dealing effectively with a large, diverse staff and for empowering people to be creative.  “Being a chef is also about being an artist, and I understand that every dish from all my chefs has to come from each of their hearts – that is what gives a dish meaning.”

Today, juggling a yearly budget of $15 million, he directs 150 culinarians (including seven chefs) to chart the culinary course of the hotel’s banquets, room service and three distinctly restaurants:  Peacock Alley, the Waldorf’s highly acclaimed signature French restaurant; Bull and Bear, a sumptuous steak house and midtown mecca; and Oscar's, an all-day dining American brasserie.

His goal is to make every dining experience at the hotel exceptional for every guest, a somewhat daunting quest given the world-renowned status of so many of the Waldorf’s patrons.

Indeed, Doherty holds the distinction of having cooked for more U.S. Presidents, royalty, world and religious leaders than any other chef in the country.

His is a culinary style that evokes the heart-warming earthiness of southern France and regional America, and it reflects vivid childhood memories of his grandmother’s meals.  “She was a fabulous cook.  Roast duck, fresh ham, dumplings, lots of different flavorful sauces – I can still smell the aromas of her cooking.”

That sensory memory is an indication of Doherty’s self-professed passion for food.  He is often teased about his habit of closely scrutinizing a dish before tasting it.  “I marvel at the deep aroma of things like truffles, melons, fresh oysters and chocolate – it’s important to me to take a few moments to savor it.  I’m equally enchanted by texture, just the look of fois gras, triple cream cheeses and a perfect crème brûlée seduces me.”

Despite this propensity for culinary detail, or perhaps because of it, Doherty is not an advocate of complicated cooking.  He maintains, “I’ve never understood or appreciated a lot of flavors at one time.  I subscribe to a theory of no more than three key ingredients on any one plate.  Then I cook to bring out their individual qualities, to enhance their natural flavors.  I want ingredients to taste like whatever they are – if I don’t like that taste in the first place, I don’t use it.” Consequently, while he has conquered other childhood aversions (lima beans and liver), Doherty still does not utilize raw onions, which would overpower his dishes!

Frequently invited as a guest chef at the world's top hotels, restaurants and educational institutions, Doherty also participates in high-profile fundraising events for organizations, such as the Women’s Campaign Fund and the James Beard Foundation.   He has appeared on numerous national and international television programs as well, including the PBS special “At the Chef’s Table” and A&E’s “It’s a Living.”  In addition, he is a member of the advisory boards of Board of the Culinary Institute of America and the French Culinary Institute.