Skip to main content
Close
Vilcek Foundation
  • About
    • About

      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

    • Our Mission
    • Board & Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prizes

      The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded to foreign-born individuals for extraordinary achievement in the arts and sciences.

    • About the Prizes

      Learn more about the Vilcek Foundation Prizes and the prizewinners.

    • Vilcek Prizes

      Awarded to immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishments.

    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

      Awarded to young immigrant professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement early in their careers.

    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence

      Awarded to immigrants who have had a significant impact on American society, or to individuals who are dedicated champions of immigrant causes.

    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
Sign Up Search
Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Boris Portnoy

Boris Portnoy

2010 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise Honoree in Culinary Arts

Location

San Francisco, CA

Title

Freelance Pastry Chef; Cook at Wild Kitchen

Education

The New School

Country of Birth

Russia

Tags
culinary arts
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
A photo of Boris Portnoy in a chef's jacket outdoors.
Photo by Justin Lewis, courtesy of Meadowood Napa Valley

Born in Moscow, Boris Portnoy has always known he wanted to cook. As a youth, he took his earliest inspiration from culinary cookbooks, whose recipes he attempted to reproduce.

Portoy moved with his family to Brooklyn when he was 12 and studied at New School University in New York City before launching his career in the culinary arts. His training in the kitchen began at Deux Cheminees in Philadelphia, under Chef Fritz Blanc. Along with training in traditional French cuisine, Chef Blanc, a former microbiologist, exposed Portnoy to something more valuable: the chemistry of food. He also sparked the budding chef’s creativity, motivating him to question everything about food and to work for experience — lessons Portnoy has never forgotten.

He found his next source of inspiration in Vernon Morales, with whom he opened the restaurant Salt in Philadelphia. Chef Morales encouraged Portnoy to go to Spain and expand his repertoire of creative cuisine. There, under renowned Chef Andoni Anduliz at Mugaritz, he learned about the application of modern techniques and, more importantly, the range of taste.

Back in the States, Portnoy became focused on learning pastry technique, and took on the role of opening pastry chef at New York City’s critically acclaimed Cre. But in 2005 Portnoy moved cross country to join Chef Morales at Winterland in San Francisco. That same year he was named a Rising Star Pastry Chef by StarChefs.

A year later, Portnoy became pastry chef at Campton Place in San Francisco, where his innovative pastry concepts and flavor combinations began to take shape and earn acclaim. His pastry “philosophy” is to use ingredients with a common denominator. Among his favorite ingredients are astringents such as tea, coffee, or chicory.

Since 2008, Portnoy has been working as a freelance pastry chef. In that capacity, he has teamed with mixologist Daniel Hyatt to establish SucrePunch, a collaborative project to contribute to the dessert and cocktail culture. More recently, he has been working with Iso Rabin of ForageSF to set up a network of foragers, gleaners, and others who want to eat wild foraged foods.

Tags
culinary arts

Jury Members

2010 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise Honoree in Culinary Arts

Karine Bakhoum

President, KB Networks

Darra Goldstein

Professor, Williams College, Editor-in-Chief, Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture

Andrew Knowlton

Restaurant Editor, Bon Appetite

Gabrielle Langholtz

Editor-in-Chief, Edible Brooklyn/Edible Manhattan

Harvey Levenstein

Professor Emeritus, McMaster University, Author, Paradox of Plenty
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Related Prize Recipients

Michael Cheng

Michael Cheng is an honoree for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts.

Nandini Mukherjee

Nandini Mukherjee is an honoree for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts.
A photo of Nandini Mukherjee

Yoshinori Ishii

Yoshinori Ishii is an honoree for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts.

You may also be interested in

September 16, 2019

A Place at the Table: New American Recipes from the Nation’s Top Foreign-Born Chefs

Get to know the foreign-born chefs who are transforming America’s culinary landscape and learn how to make their signature dishes in your own kitchen.
A Place at the Table: New American Recipes from the Nation's Top Foreign-Born Chefs
March 15, 2019

From the Inside Out: Tejal Rao Writes the World through Food

Through food critic Tejal Rao, what is often invisible to others is seen with fresh eyes.
A photo of Tejal Rao writing for the New York Times
March 1, 2019

The Good Old Days: Nite Yun Revives Cambodia’s Golden Era

Nyum Bai, the bright, cheery restaurant founded by Creative Promise Prizewinner Nite Yun, is a testament to overcoming hardships.
A photo of Nite Yun

Join our mailing list

Sign Up
Vilcek Foundation
21 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021

Phone: 212.472.2500

Email: info@vilcek.org

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board and Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence
    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
  • Careers
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Vimeo
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2022   Vilcek Foundation