Heirloom Kitchen is an evolving culinary center. We are a Farm-to-Table Restaurant and Supper Club (offering Thursday through Sunday dinner service in an open kitchen) and a recreational cooking school. We are committed to sourcing the finest quality ingredients and creating both elevated and interactive dining experiences.
Restaurant & Supper Club
Thursday through Sunday, Heirloom Kitchen transforms into a restaurant supper club. We offer chef’s table seating around our kitchen island where guests can watch the team prepare and artfully present their dishes. Heirloom Kitchen’s menu, changing with the seasons, and often weekly, features modern, playful takes on American classics.
Cooking Classes
We offer a variety of recreational hands-on cooking classes. Examples include pasta-making, healthy cooking, ethnic cooking, basic skills, making the most of the season’s fresh produce, to digging into a meal you’ve made yourself (with a little help from our prestigious chefs, local butcheries, fisheries, and farms).
Retail Boutique
Heirloom Kitchen seeks out artisanal items from around the globe to carry in its boutiques. With a keen eye for both form and function, we stock our shelves with our favorite kitchen tools & tabletop pieces.
Whether it be learning how to make pasta from scratch, picking up an unusual gift for a loved one, enjoying a hands on cooking class or a one of a kind dinner experience on Friday’s date night, Heirloom Kitchen offers a culinary center for all the foodies out there.We are inspired by heirloom products, creative culinary discoveries, and the celebration of food!
David Viana
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David was born and raised in Little Lisboa: Newark, New Jersey’s Portuguese immigrant community. Growing up, he spent afternoons with his grandmother, Isaura, who introduced him to many of the dishes that grace Lita’s menu today.
He turned his early love of food into a storied career, rising through the ranks at Mesa Grill, Eleven Madison Park, Marea and Villa Joya in Portugal. He joined the team at Heirloom Kitchen in 2016, where he received three-and-a-half stars from The Star-Ledger within weeks. In 2018 he was nominated as Best Chef Mid Atlantic by The James Beard Foundation, shortly before competing on Top Chef’s 16th season.
In addition to leading the culinary helm at Heirloom, he is the Executive Chef at Lita and Judy’s at The St Laurent. When he’s not working he is spending time with his son, Cole, teaching him to make fejauda and taking him to Chuck E Cheese.
Neilly Robinson
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Neilly is the Managing Director of Lita, Heirloom Kitchen and Judy’s at The St Laurent.
A self taught entrepreneur, Neilly founded Heirloom Kitchen–the group’s first restaurant–in 2013 with her mom, Judy. Growing up, their family dinner table was always beautiful and bountiful. So, after a decade working in fashion in New York City she decided to return to her Jersey roots, creating a restaurant and cooking school. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Heirloom Kitchen has grown into one of the east coast’s most beloved restaurants, with Chef David Viana leading the kitchen.
Neilly supervises everything across Good Trouble Hospitality. She oversees people and culture, marketing and creative, and number crunching, all the while ensuring that no detail gets overlooked.
When she isn’t working she’s busy researching where she’s traveling to next!
*Neilly is 2024 James Beard Foundation Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Fellow
Zachary Abramzon
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Chef Zachary Abramzon started his culinary journey working in various kitchens in northern New Jersey, including Uproot, before taking a year sabbatical to travel the nordic countries and work in Michelin establishments such as Faviken and Cafe Nizza. These experiences cemented his keen interest in the New Nordic movement which he began sharing with the Heirloom family in 2019. Pulling from both his Ukrainian and Israeli roots, Zach also teaches some of our favorite cooking classes and creates some of our most inspired dishes at Heirloom Kitchen.
Shante Dorsett
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Shante Dorsett, originally from Guam and raised in Central New Jersey, began her culinary journey at 15, inspired by her grandfather’s passion for cooking for his family. Her formal training started at the Culinary Education Center in Asbury Park, where her love for baking flourished. She further honed her skills at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, earning an associate degree in Pastry Arts.
Shante’s career path led her to some of the most renowned kitchens in the U.S., including Chef Alain Ducasse’s Adour, Eleven Madison Park, and Gramercy Tavern. She also pursued chocolatier training with Valrhona Chocolate in Brooklyn on her path to continuous growth. Her role as Executive Pastry Chef with Discovery Land Group took her to notable private clubs, such as the Yellowstone Club in Montana and Dune Deck Beach Club in West Hampton Beach, NY.
Now back in New Jersey, Shante serves as the Pastry Chef here at Heirloom Kitchen, where her contemporary American desserts are a blend of both personal memories and global influences.
Amanda Holder
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With over 20 years of experience in hospitality—more than half as a General Manager—Amanda has transformed her passion for the industry into a fulfilling career. She joins Team Heirloom after 2.5 years at Heirloom at the St. Laurent, where she served as GM, and 6.5 years as GM at Patricia’s of Holmdel.
Amanda believes dining is one of life’s most meaningful moments—a time to connect, laugh, and savor great food while creating lasting memories. Whether crafting the perfect cocktail or curating unforgettable dining experiences, her energy and enthusiasm inspire her team and delight every guest.
Outside the restaurant, Amanda channels her creativity into Moonlit Mantras, her organic tea company specializing in healing blends and seasonal flavors. For Amanda, hospitality is more than a profession—it’s a way of life she joyfully shares with everyone who steps through the door.
“There is absolutely no substitute for the best. Good food cannot be made of inferior ingredients masked with high flavor. It is true thrift to use the best ingredients available and to waste nothing.”
— James Beard (Chef, Writer, Educator and Namesake of The James Beard Foundation)