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Chef Michael Bongiorno was raised in Denville, New Jersey where he grew up surrounded by the aroma of the Italian
Kitchen, the inspiration of his mother's and grandmother's fresh pasta, sausages and all good things Italian.
His desire to be a chef started at an early age and it was known that from the time of being ten years old it was
announced to the family that his desire was to become a chef. His connection with his mother and grandmother was
strongest while he was in the kitchen from an early age helping to make the weekly Sunday gravy (it's not tomato sauce
or marinara...It's gravy!!!!) or helping to grind the sausage of prepare and present the antipasto.
When it became time to become serious about being a chef he started as any young chef should by getting his foot in t
he door of a local restaurant as a dishwasher. Keeping his eyes, ears and taste buds opened he soaked in any
information available and volunteered for any kitchen work available honing his knife skills and learning the basics of a
professional kitchen. Following high school he worked in some of the finest kitchens before heading off to Johnson and
Wales University where he graduated in the top of his class while holding down a full time job at the Omni Biltmore Hotel
in Providence, Rhode Island. Fate had it that his internship to a hotel in Aruba was cancelled two weeks before he was
to leave due to a political uprising in the country and he secured an internship with the prestigious Hyatt Regency Grand
Cypress in Orlando, Florida where he would begin his career with Hyatt which eventually would cover 9 different Hyatt
properties in 6 different countries and still continues to this day.
In 1991, Chef Bongiorno left for the sunny shores of Hawaii, to the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii
where he was the Chef Saucier at the prestigious 1244 room resort. Late 1993 saw him leaving Hawaii for the Hyatt
Regency Manila in the Philippines where he obtained his first International position as Chef de Cuisine where he was
instrumental in the opening of the famed Café' Al Fresco.
The next 10 years would see him proceed up the ranks to Executive Chef with various postings in Malaysia, Brunei,
Thailand and Japan where he would study the local cuisines and it would not be unusual to find him in the various
vegetable, spice and fish markets talking to the local purveyors and exploring the wonderful local and sometimes
unusual ingredients that were to be found. This passion for local food knowledge would help him create a gentle
balance of traditional Italian and French preparations with the abundance of the freshest exotic Asian ingredients
available.
Kitchen, the inspiration of his mother's and grandmother's fresh pasta, sausages and all good things Italian.
His desire to be a chef started at an early age and it was known that from the time of being ten years old it was
announced to the family that his desire was to become a chef. His connection with his mother and grandmother was
strongest while he was in the kitchen from an early age helping to make the weekly Sunday gravy (it's not tomato sauce
or marinara...It's gravy!!!!) or helping to grind the sausage of prepare and present the antipasto.
When it became time to become serious about being a chef he started as any young chef should by getting his foot in t
he door of a local restaurant as a dishwasher. Keeping his eyes, ears and taste buds opened he soaked in any
information available and volunteered for any kitchen work available honing his knife skills and learning the basics of a
professional kitchen. Following high school he worked in some of the finest kitchens before heading off to Johnson and
Wales University where he graduated in the top of his class while holding down a full time job at the Omni Biltmore Hotel
in Providence, Rhode Island. Fate had it that his internship to a hotel in Aruba was cancelled two weeks before he was
to leave due to a political uprising in the country and he secured an internship with the prestigious Hyatt Regency Grand
Cypress in Orlando, Florida where he would begin his career with Hyatt which eventually would cover 9 different Hyatt
properties in 6 different countries and still continues to this day.
In 1991, Chef Bongiorno left for the sunny shores of Hawaii, to the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii
where he was the Chef Saucier at the prestigious 1244 room resort. Late 1993 saw him leaving Hawaii for the Hyatt
Regency Manila in the Philippines where he obtained his first International position as Chef de Cuisine where he was
instrumental in the opening of the famed Café' Al Fresco.
The next 10 years would see him proceed up the ranks to Executive Chef with various postings in Malaysia, Brunei,
Thailand and Japan where he would study the local cuisines and it would not be unusual to find him in the various
vegetable, spice and fish markets talking to the local purveyors and exploring the wonderful local and sometimes
unusual ingredients that were to be found. This passion for local food knowledge would help him create a gentle
balance of traditional Italian and French preparations with the abundance of the freshest exotic Asian ingredients
available.
Biography
