About | mysite

Chef

Michael Burbella

a culture vulture

I am a graduate of The Culinary Institute of

America and have worked in NYC Restaurants Gramercy Tavern and Gotham Bar & Grill under chefs Alfred Portale and Top Chef host Tom Colicchio. I then trained in France at restaurants George Blanc and Regis Marcon, both 3 Michelin star establishments. I continued to train in Florence Italy at Cibreo Restaurant and taught classes at famed Italian cookbook author Giuliano Bugialli's school in the Tuscan countryside. I lived and worked outside of Seville Spain for Chef Ferran Adria of El Bulli restaurant at Hacienda Benenazuza and also in St. Moritz Switzerland at the 2 Michelin star restaurant Talvo.

After five years of training and extensive traveling in Europe, I returned to the United States and eventually became the Executive Chef at the Metropolitan Opera House Grand Tier Restaurant at Lincoln Center. Past private chef experience includes a summer stint for architect /artist Peter Marino at his Southhampton home and NY Knicks player Kristops Porzingas. I have been reviewed by every major publication including the NY Times, Time Out Magazine, NY Magazine, Inside Jersey, and NY Observer.

After working as an executive chef for ten years, I decided to complete my education. I received my B.A. in Art from Montclair State University. During this time I also pursued my interests in wine, olive oil, and Neapolitan pizza making. I received the certificate level 3 in wine studies from WSET at the international wine center in NYC and attended the UC Davis, ONAOO, and Savantes courses for certification in olive oil sensory analysis. After graduating from Montclair University I received my MA in Food Studies/Nutrition from New York University. Currently, I have recently returned to New York University to pursue an

MPH / Nutrition. I live in the NYC Metro area and continue to follow my passion for travel & culture to wherever that may take me.

Philosophy

After having cooked professionally for nearly 25 years, I became more interested in food on a global level. With an expanding world population, how will we be able to grow and produce food to feed everyone in the near future? Will we be able to do this in a way that is not detrimental to humans, the environment, and the animals that are involved? I believe people need to be informed about the choices they are unwillingly making when purchasing what they will consume. Everyone should have access to healthy food choices no matter what socioeconomic background or income level. Promoting a balanced diet is important since undernutrition and overnutrition are widespread issues affecting society on a national and global scale. Food labeling and advertising with misleading health claims can be very confusing to the naive consumer. The public needs to be more aware of the consequences of ingesting the additives in the foods they consume. There is much work to be done in this area, but raising public awareness regarding the virtues of making informed healthy food selections will play a key role in curtailing food-related health issues. we need to as a nation, return to wholesome, healthy good food. I hope you agree with me.

Link to my Medium Page for stories on food, culture, wine & travel

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https://medium.com/@michaelburbella