Michael Mignano

The Pierre NY, A Taj Hotel is pleased to announce the appointment of Chef Michael Mignano as Executive Chef/Culinary Director. Michael has had a long and rich history with The Pierre both under Four Seasons and Taj. Most recently, Chef Mignano served as Executive Banquet Chef for The Pierre NY.

His relationship with The Pierre started in 1998 as the youngest Executive Pastry Chef under Four Seasons. Michael left briefly to expand his career in the corporate world and became an Owner/Entrepreneur. He returned in 2013 through 2019 as Executive Pastry Chef under Taj. In this capacity he was instrumental in planning, revamping menus and implementing for all outlets.
Chef Michael Mignano brings close to 30 years of culinary experience with a passion for the pastry arts and farm fresh foods. A native of Queens, NY, Michael spent summers on his family farm in North Fork, LI where he ran a seasonal farm stand featuring fresh produce grown on his grandparents’ farm. At a young age he began experimenting in the kitchen with the seasonal fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish to create innovative dishes for his family. Today, his passion for fresh farm stand foods translates to creating innovative specialties with a fun, surprising element that takes the farm-to-table trend to a new culinary experience. Michael’s vision for farm stand foods brings a new passion to the art of the plate.

Chef Michael’s illustrious career has featured stints on the Food Network to serving voluptuous dishes to celebrities. He appeared on Food Network’s Sweet Genius and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He won “Best Food Item” on Long Island two years in a row from New York Newsday, while operating his own bakery and café, and making food for 9/11 rescue workers with Chef David Bouley. Michael has also worked alongside Bill Yosses, a chef who went on to become the White House pastry chef. He created the Mignano Bar, a gourmet candy bar which inspired Hershey’s Chocolate to tap Michael for a candy research project. In the early years of his career Chef Michael worked for such notable New York kitchens such as Bouley, Charlie Palmer’s Aureole, Balthazar and Les Pinasse.
Chef Michael launched the very first halal restaurant/bakery, Farine in New York receiving prominent reviews and praise from the food community. As an award-winning chef, Michael brought skillfully crafted dishes to guests and a breadth of knowledge to his culinary team. Michael’s whimsically tempting food at Farine evoked reimagined versions of classic and modern flavor pairings. In 2019, Farine was a Second Runner up for Best New Restaurant in NYC by Eater.
In 2017, Michael was named in the Top 10 Pastry Chef’s in America by Pastry Art & Design Magazine and was the winner of Food Network’s Iron Chef “Roof Top Challenge” beating 29 other leading chefs for the coveted $10,000 prize.