In this episode we talked with Chef Michael Laiskonis who was a wealth of knowledge and a pleasure to interview!

Chef Michael Laiskonis is the Creative Director for the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. He is the man behind the ICE Chocolate Lab, the nation’s first education-focused bean-to-bar facility, providing unprecedented opportunities for experimentation, research and development, workshops, and small batch production. He spent 8 years as Chef Eric Ripert’s Pastry Chef at Le Bernadin in New York, awarded 3 Michelin Stars and a 4-star rating from The New York Times, their hightest rating, as well 5 years as Chef Takashi Yagihashi’s Pastry Chef at Tribute in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He was named among America’s Top Ten Pastry Chefs by Pastry Art & Design in 2002 & 2003, and Bon Appetit’s Pastry Chef of the Year in 2004. He is a 2007 James Beard Award Winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and received the International Association of Culinary Professional’s 2014 Culinary Professional of the Year Award. He is an active writer for publications including Gourmet, Saveur, & The Huffington Post, among others, and is a highly sought-after consultant. He has made a number of appearances on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America, as well as served as a guest judge on Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts.

If you're interested in supporting our podcast and helping to fund future episodes, please consider heading to https://anchor.fm/while-the-cookies-cool/support; thank you!