Saddle River Inn Named Among the 25 Most Essential Restaurants in North Jersey

Chef Jamie Knott, a Table to Table trustee, uses locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

Editor’s note: This article about acclaimed Chef Jamie Knott’s Saddle River Inn being named among the 25 most essential restaurants in North Jersey first ran on NorthJersey.com. Click here to read the entire article.

The Saddle River Inn, one of the acclaimed restaurants owned by Chef Jamie Knott, was named one of the 25 most essential restaurants in North Jersey by NorthJersey.com.

“Saddle River Inn is essential,” the website reported. “If it closed tomorrow, North Jersey dining would be worse for it.”

The article described Knott as a chef who clearly cares about his craft and the restaurant industry in New Jersey. Knott was the chef honoree at our annual gala in 2024 “not only for his culinary chops but for his work lifting other restaurateurs and supporting the organization’s effort to fight food insecurity through food rescue.”

Chef Jamie Knott

“There’s enough food on this planet for everyone who is food insecure. But it’s not always making its way to the right mouths,” Knott said at the gala. “That’s why Table to table is so crucial, and frankly, they’re saving lives out here. I vow to carry on the incredible work that’s been done over the last two and a half decades, and look for ways to expand our reach and impact even further.”

Knott also recently participated in a celebratory third anniversary celebration of Chef Antonio De Ieso’s Fiorentini restaurant, an event that helped raise enough to support the rescue and delivery of nearly 300,000 pounds of healthy food!

The distinction bestowed by NorthJersey.com is the latest of several recent honors for Knott and the inn.

OpenTable named the inn to its annual list of the top 100 eateries in the United States.

Knott was also named one of the top restauranteurs in the Garden State by New Jersey Monthly magazine last year.

is also the chef-owner of Madame and Kinjo. He warmly welcomes guests for flavorful, unforgettable dining experiences focused on locally sourced, fresh ingredients, reflecting his commitment to quality. These restaurants “have quickly become some of the most celebrated restaurants in New Jersey this year,” New Jersey Monthly stated.

Knott’s portfolio of restaurants is consistently praised and acknowledged by media and influencers alike. Educated at the New York Restaurant School, Knott’s career is marked by innovation and a deep understanding of the culinary world.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 120,700 tons of nutritious food—enough for 241,400,846 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 544 metric tons of methane from entering the environment.

Related:

• Table to Table’s 25th Anniversary Chefs Gala
• Table to Table Trustee Jamie Knott’s Saddle River Inn Named a Top 100 Restaurant in the U.S.
• Chef Jamie Knott, Table to Table’s Chefs Gala Honoree, Named a Top NJ Restauranteur
• 2024 Chefs Gala Honoree: Chef Jamie Knott