Wayne Nish
Chef Wayne Nish has amassed an impressive culinary resume on his
path to becoming chef/co- owner of his acclaimed New American
restaurant, March, which he opened in an elegant turn-of- the-century
midtown Manhattan townhouse with his partner, Joseph Scalice,
in August 1990. He is a world-renowned chef who has created an
innovative approach to New American cuisine.
Nish comments on his innovative multi-cultural dishes and the
continually changing seasonal menus he has created at March: "My
culinary vision for March is to create a cosmopolitan menu that
is global in scope and transcends national boundaries. My cooking
continues to be inspired and influenced by different ethnic cultures
yet is transformed into my own original dishes. There is an increasing
attention being paid to food representative of American cuisine
on a world stage as the assimilation of different ethnic groups
occurs, creating a cosmopolitan society. My menus at March reflect
this world view."
Nish's unique culinary vision was formed during his years growing
up in New York City. He inherited his love of cooking from his
Maltese mother, grandmother, and aunt, and his love of the exotic
from his Japanese-Norwegian father. Nish came to professional
cooking late in life. He studied journalism and architecture in
college before leaving a successful career in the printing industry
at the age of 32 to begin a new life in the food world.
In 1983, at the age of 32, Nish quickly made up for lost time.
After training at the New York Restaurant School, his apprenticeship
at Barry Wine's famed Manhattan restaurant, The Quilted Giraffe,
quickly turned into a professional position. In 1986, Nish was
transferred to as Associate Chef to Barry Wine's new restaurant,
The Casual Quilted Giraffe, in Philip Johnson's new AT&T Building
on Madison Avenue in New York City. There, at the forefront of
the transition from French-Nouvelle to a truly original American
cuisine, Nish's culinary talent and skills were honed and inspired
by the no-holds-barred fever in Barry Wine's kitchen.
In 1987, Nish left The Casual Quilted Giraffe as Associate Chef
to work as a private chef for a wealthy New York socialite. This
unique experience afforded him extensive culinary experimentation
and artistic freedom.
In 1988, Nish left his work as a private chef to become Executive
Chef at the legendary La Colombe d'Or. Nish's culinary talent
and lack of direct reference about Provencal cooking inspired
his own unique interpretation of this cuisine. Within four months,
Nish's innovative cooking at La Colombe d'Or garnered the restaurant
a major three-star review from The New York Times, while it catapulted
Nish from an unknown chef to a major star. Nish observes: "I think
I was a good example of a chef who was asked to work with a theme
I was not directly familiar with, took the ingredients and certain
traditions, and let my instincts take me from there."
In 1990, Nish opened his first restaurant, March, in an elegant
turn-of-the- century townhouse in midtown Manhattan, with his
partner, Joseph Scalice. Nish's innovative seasonal menus at March
presented an exciting approach to New American cuisine. In only
seven years, Nish and Scalice transformed this quiet corner of
Sutton Place into one of Manhattan's premier destination restaurants.
The restaurant has received numerous culinary accolades, including
a four-and-one half-star review in John Mariani and Peter Meltzer's
Passport: To New York Restaurants (1997), four-star reviews by
Forbes, Mobil: America's Best Hotels and Restaurants (1996), Newsday,
and Crains New York Business, three three-star reviews by The
New York Times, a 27/26/26 ratingby the Zagat Survey, a "Best
Of New York" Gault Millau Award, a "Restaurant Of The Month" award
by Bon Appetit, and "The Golden Dishes of 1997" award by GQ Magazine's
Alan Richman.
Nish concludes: "I am delighted to have opened my own restaurant.
March is a labor of love for me and my partner, Joe Scalice. The
menus are works in progress as I continue to experiment with new
ingredients, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural influences. I want
to solidify my own personal imprint on New American cuisine, which
is, by me definition, global in scope."
In addition, Nish has received numerous culinary honors and awards,
and has participated as a guest chef and judge at many prestigious
culinary programs, major fundraising events, and other prominent
special events. He has also appeared as a special guest chef on
numerous TV, cable, and radio shows.
As chef/co-owner at March, Wayne Nish's extensive training and
culinary talent have combined with his innately creative vision
and ambitious goals to make him one of this country's most innovative
chefs/restaurateurs.
