Chef Michael Lockard

"Cooking is in constant motion. I love that it is made up of split-second decisions; adjusting tastes, selecting products, visualizing colors, textures, presentations and the experience when it all comes together is amazing..."

Business Acumen

My experience ranges from elite New York City restaurants, hotels, Michelin star restaurants, restaurant openings, to organizing the complex multiple food service operations of the largest sporting event in the world. All of this is drawn upon and applied to positivey impact the business. 

Michael Lockard

Executive Chef 

Michael Lockard, as the former Executive Chef of The Plaza Hotel, ran the food operation of America’s most famous and beloved building. Similar in spirit to the rascal character of The Plaza’s Eloise, one of Lockard’s first memories of food was sitting in his grandmother’s pantry on Thanksgiving, amidst all the pies, fruits and desserts, managing to dip his fingers into each and every dish. Today, Lockard is responsible for satisfying guests with a variety of menus suited for day or night throughout The Palm Court, The Champagne Bar, The Rose Club and In-Room Dining.

Lockard grew up not too far from The Plaza, in Long Island’s East Hampton, and decided to head north to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Upon graduation, he returned to Long Island and worked every station in the kitchen at famed restaurateur Drew Nieporent’s East Hampton Point, under the guidance of Chef Gerry Hayden. Hayden, himself a graduate of Aureole, introduced Lockard to Charlie Palmer. Palmer became a mentor from this point forward, helping Lockard land positions at Aureole, Metrazur and ultimately sending him to Europe to continue to fine-tune his craft. Lockard worked throughout France and Germany, including a stint at Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne. Upon returning to New York in 2000, he accepted the honor of cooking as Chef de Partie at Sirio Maccioni’s newly opened Le Cirque. From there, he joined with Chef Laurent Gras at Peacock Alley, to study Gras’s unmistakably elegant approach to cooking.

With tremendous fine dining experience and training, Lockard won the Executive Chef position of one of our nation’s most-watched sporting events, the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. There, Lockard was able to translate his classical cooking technique to an indoor/outdoor venue that serviced nearly one million people in a relatively short amount of time.

In Fall 2014, Lockard teamed up with Geoffrey Zakarian, The Plaza’s Culinary Director, to relaunch the iconic Palm Court with a complete renovation, a brand new evening and bar concept. Together, Zakarian and Lockard reimagined all of the previously existing menus throughout each outlet to continue to surprise and delight the hotel guests, visitors and New Yorkers alike. “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.”