Biography of Nick Malgieri

Nick Malgieri

Nick Malgieri, former Executive Pastry Chef at Windows on the World, is a 1996 inductee into Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. He is the author of Chocolate (HarperCollins, 1998), winner of an IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award for best baking book of 1998, voted Best Chocolate Book in the World by the 1998 Salon International du Livre Gourmand, and included in Food & Wine magazine’s Best of the Best for 1998, and How to Bake (HarperCollins, 1995), the recipient of a James Beard Foundation cookbook award for best baking book of 1995. He is also the author of Nick Malgieri's Perfect Pastry (Macmillan, 1989) and Great Italian Desserts (Little, Brown, 1990), and Cookies Unlimited (HarperCollins, 2000), which was nominated for a James Beard Foundation cookbook award and was included in Food & Wine magazine’s Best of the Best for 2000. His latest books are Perfect Cakes (HarperCollins, 2002), A Baker's Tour (HarperCollins, 2005)), which was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award, and Perfect Light Desserts (HarperCollins, 2006), coauthored with David Joachim.

In 1998 and 1999, he was voted one of the ten best pastry chefs in America by Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he apprenticed in Switzerland and was subsequently employed at the Hotel de Paris and the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo and at the Reserve de Beaulieu in France. In New York he was Assistant Pastry Chef at the Waldorf Astoria; Executive Chef at Paine Webber, Inc.; and Pastry Chef at the Board Room, a private club.

Malgieri began teaching in the New School Culinary Arts Program in 1979 and in 1981 became chairman of the Baking Department there. He developed and taught the professional baking curriculum for the New York Restaurant School and authored the baking section of the Restaurant School’s textbook. A founder and owner of the Total Heaven Baking company, Malgieri has served as consultant to Inhilco, Inc. and restaurants and pastry shops throughout the United States. He has developed recipes for a variety of food producers, including Food and Wines From France and A.I.D.I., the Italian Confectionery Industries Association. He has also served as American national spokesperson for the Switzerland Tourism Gastronomy and Wine program.

Currently, Malgieri directs the baking program at the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School) and frequently serves as a guest teacher at many cooking schools. Since 1985, he has appeared at culinary events throughout North America, including at the Smithsonian Institution.

Malgieri’s recipes have been published in the New York Times, Cuisine, Restaurant Business, Family Circle, McCall’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, and other magazines and newspapers throughout the United States. He is the author of articles for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and his writing has appeared in the New York Daily News, Gourmet, Chocolatier, Food & Wine, and Cook’s Illustrated. Previously, Malgieri was the American correspondent for the Italian magazine La Pasticceria Internazionale and editor of Dolce Italia, a publication of the Italian Trade Commission.

Malgieri has appeared on local television throughout the United States, as well as on all the national morning shows. Other television credits include Chef du Jour, Cook’s Choice, Bakers Dozen, and Cooking Live on the Food Network and appearances with Julia Child on Baking with Julia, as well as with Martha Stewart. He also appeared with Vincent Schiavelli in the PBS series The Chefs of Cucina Amore.

A Certified Culinary Professional and member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Malgieri has served as chairman of its certification committee. He is a charter member and formerly on the board of the New York Association of Cooking Teachers and has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the IACP culinary trust. A founder and member of Bakers Dozen East, he also holds membership in the Federazione Italiana dei Cuochi, the Amicale Culinaire de Monaco, and the Société Culinaire Philanthropique de New York. In 2003 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Channe du Valais for his efforts in promoting Swiss gastronomy and culture in the United States.