Chef Michael Lockard



Gerry gave me my first job at East Hampton Point Restaurant after graduating the Culinary Institute of America. I give him all the credit for supporting me and opening up the professional world of cooking to me; from teaching me the subtleties of the importance of reducing a sauce; setting up and maintaining a hot line station; to exposing me to dining in fine restaurants in New York City. I thank him for his push to get me to cook in Manhattan and his introduction to Chef Charlie Palmer. - Michael Lockard

 "...As a child, Hayden loved helping his mother in the kitchen; he later attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Following graduation, he worked under chefs Charlie Palmer and David Burke at the River Café in Brooklyn. In 1988, Palmer recruited Hayden to be the sous chef at his new Manhattan restaurant, Aureole. Throughout the '90s, Hayden built an impressive résumé with stints at San Francisco's Aqua Restaurant, Long Island's East Hampton Point, and New York's Tribeca Grill, where he met Fleming, his future wife. In 1996, Hayden became the executive chef at Manhattan's Marguery Grill, which was soon named "Best New Restaurant" by Esquire. Three years later, Hayden returned to Aureole—this time as executive chef..."

He has then moved on to Amuse, and then to open The North Fork Table & Inn.

“Michael has a calm and steadfast approach to running a kitchen that results in flavorful, well-executed cuisine,” notes Zakarian. “Together, we are bringing the best to The Plaza each and every day.”

Working with Geoffrey has been an amazing experience. He is hyper focused on the food being the best it can be, and to push to improve what we do each and every day...

Already established as America’s favorite judge on Food Network’s Chopped, Zakarian won the 4th Season of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, earning him the title of Iron Chef. He has been featured regularly on Iron Chef America, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, The Best Thing I Ever Made and judged the 5th Season of The Next Iron Chef. His newest Food Network series, The Kitchen, premiered in January 2014 and has already been celebrated for exceptionally high ratings. Alongside appearances on ABC’s The Chew and The Rachael Ray Show, CBS’ The Dish and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Today shows, Geoffrey also hosts Sirius XM Radio’s, Food Talk, which premiered at the 2013 South Beach Wine and Food Festival.(Click Here for More)...

I worked for Laurent at Peacock Alley at the Waldorf=Astoria hotel in New York. He taught me presicion, technique, to work with the finest ingredients and accentuate their flavors at their peak.- Michael Lockard

A native of France, Chef Gras worked his way through a “Who’s Who” of Michelin-starred kitchens with Alain Senderens, Jacques Maximin, Guy Savoy and Alain Ducasse before coming to the United States in 1997 to take the helm at New York’s Peacock Alley in The Waldorf-Astoria. In 2001 he took the position of Executive Chef at San Francisco’s renowned Fifth Floor, where he was named San Francisco magazine’s Chef of the Year and Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 2002.

At L2O Gras enriches his culinary perspective and French training by drawing from global cuisine and a repertoire of modern and traditional cooking techniques. As he explores the intricacies of fish and shellfish, he creates artful compositions that enhance the innate flavors of a singular ingredient. Collaborating with small artisanal purveyors around the globe, Gras is able to serve unique selections of top-quality ingredients such as hirame from the Hokkaido and Kinki prefectures in Japan, Spanish octopus from the Galicia region of Spain and codfish from Maine. Gras’ fierce attention to detail is felt throughout, as even the bread, naturally leavened, is made in-house as are staples like butter, yogurt and crème fraîche.

 

My time spent with chefs Troisgros was a lesson not only in cuisine, tradition, minimalism, but in culture. We celebrated 30 years with 3 Michelin stars whlie I was there and that is a tribute to their years in pursuit of perfection. - Michael Lockard

"Cooking is in constant motion. It is guided by the generosity of nature and man. To be precise, the cook must stay on the alert and must relentlessly taste and adjust the balance of flavours and textures. This approach is fundamental to me. At the farmers' market, I see the harvest
spread before my eyes and I feel excitement. I would not for anything miss this moment when encounter and creation collide.... "- Michel Troisgros

"From a tiny child, I have always moved to the rhythm of a kitchen. I started hotel management school at Grenoble, and then furthered my training alongside Alain Chapel, Roger Vergé, Frédy Girardet, Michel Guérard, Pierre Wynants, Alice Waters, Michel Bourdin at the Connaught: the perfect career path and also one with a huge amount of variety.

The premature death of my uncle Jean, was what brought my wife, Marie-Pierre, and me back to Roanne. We were somewhat happy go lucky but we did manage to win over our customers who had wondered whether the restaurant had a future. In 1996, we opened Le Central, more of a café-grocery. Then, in 2008, we opened La Colline du Colombier, a dream farm in the countryside.

My cuisine is minimalist, with no flounces, sometimes playful and I always strive for balance in my respect for flavours. These flavours are precise and bright as I use acidity to effect. And I allow myself absolute freedom when it comes to seasoning..." Michel Troisgros

Working at Le Cirque allowed me to experience cooking for celebrities and high society. We worked with the best ingredients in the Cadillac of kitchens. - Michael Lockard

Sirio Maccioni is a living legend, a restaurateur extraordinaire who has wined and dined high society in New York for nearly half a century. Along the way, he helped launch the careers of many illustrious chefs - David Bouley, Daniel Boulud, and Jacques Torres among them - and befriended a host of celebrities in the arts, politics, and business, from Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa to Nancy Reagan and Ivana Trump.

"I'm an American chef and restaurateur who lives and cooks in New York City. I've been in the game for twenty years, and I've cooked in some amazing places and tasted some amazing things. I love to cook food from all over the world, but for the last few years, I've been into Italian food. For me, cooking is all about having a good time and making people happy.

I started cooking at age fourteen at a local Italian joint and then a fine-dining French place on the lake in my hometown, Cleveland. I moved east to train at the Culinary Institute of America, where I spent my weekends cooking for New York Governor Mario Cuomo in Albany.

When I finished school, I spent some time on the line at San Domenico in New York; then I went to Italy. I worked for Valentino Mercatile at the Michelin two-star San Domenico in Emilio-Romagna and some various other spots. I hunted truffles, cooked with pasta-makers, and hung out with wine, cheese, and prosciutto-makers, learning everything I could about Italian food.

Back in New York, I worked with Gray Kunz at Lespinasse for 3 years, then went back to Europe, living and cooking in France and England. I came home to take a sous chef gig at the newly reopened Le Cirque. And I took long food-hunting driving trips across the USA, looking for the best regional American road snacks, from barbeque to root beer to po-boys.

In 1998 I took the stoves as chef de cuisine at the Café Boulud. Six years, two James Beard awards, food and Wine Best New Chef and one three-star New York Times review later, I moved to Madison Square Park and launched A Voce, where I cooked from 2006 to 2008 and won my first Michelin star. I also produced my first book, Urban Italian: True Stories and Simple recipes from a Life In Food, available in fall 2008 through Bloomsbury Press.

I've appeared on bunch of TV shows, including Martha, Iron Chef America, and Sara Moulton--plus a lot of local NYC stuff..."