Food & Wine magazine names ‘Best New Chefs’ of 2025
This article was written by NRN. Click here to read the original article Senior Food & Beverage Editor Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News…
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Bret Thorn
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New on the Menu: Ceviche with sake lees and a Thai chicken sandwich
🍴 Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor since 1999 at Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, also wrote for the New York Sun (2005–2008). His expertise includes food trends, French and Asian cuisines. Thorn's column won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Educated at Tufts University and Le Cordon Bleu, he worked for ABC News during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.
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New on the Menu: A lobster cookie and an apple pie cocktail
🍱 Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News, has been with the publication since 1999. He hosts the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" and previously wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008). Thorn graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1990 and studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in 1986. He has been a member of Phi Beta Kappa and won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Journalism Award.
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Eleven Madison Park is serving meat again — what that says about veganism
🍴 Daniel Humm, chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York City, reintroduces meat to his menu on Oct. 14, 2025, after a vegan-only phase since 2021. Influenced by financial reasons and event booking challenges, the $365 tasting menu now includes fish, meat, and duck. Despite a 23% drop in NYC vegan restaurants and a mere 1% vegan population in the U.S., meatless meals remain popular among health-conscious youth. Vegan restaurant sales fell 7.5% by April 2023.
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Tory McPhail joins John Currence’s City Grocery Restaurant Group as corporate executive chef
🍲 Bret Thorn, a food & beverage editor since 1999, covers trends for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. Formerly with The New York Sun (2005-2008), he received the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Thorn is a Tufts University magna cum laude graduate and a Le Cordon Bleu alumnus. He contributed to Oxford food encyclopedias and was inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Thorn resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. and his expertise spans global cuisines and restaurant operations.
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Jet Tila discusses Chino-Latino cooking
🍲 Bret Thorn, an expert in food and beverage trends, has been with Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999. He won a 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and served as IFEC president in 2005. Thorn graduated from Tufts University in 1990 and studied at Le Cordon Bleu in 1986. He covered the 1989 Tiananmen Square events for ABC News. Thorn contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America in 2012 and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.
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New on the Menu: Thai-inspired chopped cheese and Korean shakshuka
🍴 Bret Thorn is the Senior Food & Beverage Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999. He contributed to The New York Sun from 2005-2008 and was IFEC president in 2005. A Tufts University alum, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in China during 1989. Thorn's awards include the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. He lives in Brooklyn, having previously worked in Thailand. Thorn also authored entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia in 2012 and 2015.
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New on the Menu: Two seafood dishes and two desserts
🍴 Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999, hosts "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast. He wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008) and was a sub-editor at Asia Times (1995-1997). Thorn received the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and joined Restaurant Hospitality in 2016. A Tufts University graduate, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Thorn resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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Chef Mari Katsumura offers her own style of omakase at Shō in Chicago
🍴 Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor at Nation's Restaurant News since 1999, specializes in food trends. From 2005-2008, he wrote for The New York Sun. An award-winning journalist, he studied at Tufts University and Le Cordon Bleu. Thorn worked for ABC News during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink (2012) and was inducted into Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014. Thorn resides in Brooklyn, New York.
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SBE opens two restaurants in Los Angeles
🍴 Bret Thorn is a food & beverage editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999, residing in Brooklyn, NY. He previously wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008), Asia Times (1995-1997), and Manager magazine (1992-1997). Thorn studied at Tufts University, earning a BA in history in 1990, and at Le Cordon Bleu in 1986. He served as IFEC President in 2005 and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.
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