Ric Orlando — 2026 Press Bio
Ric Orlando is an award-winning American chef, restaurateur, author, travel host and culinary storyteller known for his bold, globally inspired approach to food. With a career spanning more than three decades, Orlando has built a national reputation for blending Mediterranean, Latin, and Middle Eastern influences with seasonal American cooking, always grounded in culture, generosity, and flavor. With multiple BEST CHEF and BEST RESTAURANT awards in NY’s Hudson Valley and Capital Region, Ric is known as the OG of Upstate Chefs.
Orlando is best known for pioneering restaurants New World Home Cooking Co. (Woodstock-Saugerties, NY) and New World Bistro Bar (Albany, NY) and for his dynamic presence on television, including victories on Beat Bobby Flay and Chopped. He is also a regular guest on WAMC-Northeast Public Radio and appears on many regional podcasts. His work beyond restaurants includes a webstore (https://tastemakermarket.com), consulting, cooking classes, pop-ups, cultural travel experiences, and the authoring of We Want Clean Food, a companion to the 2003 PBS Series Ric Orlando’s TV Kitchen.
Equally central to his career is a deep commitment to community. Orlando is currently president of the Good Neighbor Food Pantry in Woodstock, NY, where he supports food access initiatives and community-driven efforts to address food insecurity in the Hudson Valley. This work reflects a core belief that food is not only nourishment, but connection, dignity, and care.
Today, Ric Orlando continues to shape contemporary American dining through media, mentorship, and advocacy and developing new hospitality concepts like Accord Social (coming summer ‘26), —using food as a cultural way to bring people together at the table and beyond.
Contact
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