Michael Laiskonis
Michael Laiskonis was named creative director of New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education in 2012. Previously executive pastry chef at Le Bernardin for eight years, his pastry philosophy manifested itself in a style of desserts that balanced art and science, and contemporary ideas with classic. Awarded Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2007 by the James Beard Foundation, his work also helped the restaurant maintain three stars from the esteemed Michelin Guide and four stars from The New York Times. In his five-year tenure as pastry chef at Tribute in Detroit, Pastry Art and Design twice named him one of the 10 best pastry chefs in America.
Laiskonis has been featured in numerous web, print, television, and radio appearances internationally. His writing has also appeared in Gourmet and The Atlantic, as well as several anthologies, including The Kitchen as a Laboratory.