Benjamin’s passion for food and cooking began at a young age, working with his father in their family’s bagel store and deli businesses in Westchester County. His curiosity for the culinary arts continued into his teen years, becoming heavily invested in all things Food Network, praising many of the celebrity chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, Giada De Laurentiis​, Ina Garten, and attempting to recreate as many of his favorite recipes as possible.

After graduating from high school, Benjamin attended Marist College and graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with a focus on Food Policy. While at Marist, Benjamin wrote for the school paper, bringing to light and sharing with the school community the unique and health focused meal offerings found on campus as well as in the local Poughkeepsie community. It was while at Marist College that Benjamin truly discovered his passion for local agriculture. He mentored with a local chef and wellness educated, assisting in the construction of community gardens and educating the MC student body on the importance of source ingredients from local farms.

Culinary school at The Institute of Culinary Education in NYC was the next big step. A six month intensive program where Benjamin learned the basics to many cuisines and familiarized himself with classical French and Italian methods of food preparation. After receiving his culinary school certificate, Benjamin trained at the famed Blue Hill at Stone Barns for a three month, an experience that introduced him to farm-to-table dining at the highest level.

Following his short stint at Blue Hill, Benjamin worked in one of Westchester County’s best restaurants, The Bedford Post Inn, a luxury 11 room inn which also featured two restaurants, an outdoor patio grill, and offered catering capacity for small or large scale events. This is where Benjamin earned his stripes, rising through the ranks to eventually lead all food productions onsite as Chef De Cuisine.

In 2018, a change in life’s direction prompted Benjamin and his partner, Anna Barbara, also a chef, to migrate North to Hudson, NY. They “splashed around” for two years in the local restaurant scene, bopping around establishments such as Back Bar, Fish & Game, Thyme & Co., Local 111, and Quinnies. Between 2019 and 2020, with the birth of their son and the beginning of the Covid- 19 pandemic Benjamin found himself in a tight “holding pattern”, unable to find a creative outlet which had been filled by restaurant cooking for the last six years.

In the early Spring of 2020, Benjamin began working with Common Hands Farm in Hilldale, NY. Benjamin spent his days on the farm learning how to seed, harvest, pack orders, and truly begin to observe the natural world. If you love to cook and eat and you haven’t ever harvested cherry tomatoes from a greenhouse, you are truly missing out on a life changing experience! During this first season on the farm, owners Dan McManus and Kerisue Lewis approached Benjamin with the idea of producing several value added product recipes using their biodynamic seasonal produce. That was when The Farmers’ Feast Inc. was born. Out of a need to preserve the abundance of produce harvested each week, Benjamin and team began testing out recipes which sought to showcase the delicately beautiful and superb taste of local/ biodynamic vegetables along with the experience and skilled execution of Benjamin’s chef tenure.