Johnny Iuzzini

Johnny's Iuzzini's interest in the pastry arts began at age seventeen when, after graduating from high school, he began working at The River Café. When he started out in garde-manger (cold appetizers and salads), Johnny frequently observed pastry production to marvel as Pastry Chef Eric Gouteyron piped chocolate butterflies. Soon Johnny was helping out in pastry in the evening after working a full day's shift in the kitchen. He learned the techniques for tempering chocolate from Eric, who today is the Executive Pastry Chef of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Eventually, Johnny moved to pastry full-time, cementing his desire to pursue a career as a pastry chef.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Johnny started work in the pastry department of the original Daniel on 76th Street. Three and a half years later, he had mastered all of the dessert stations and had become Pastry Chef Francois Payard's right-hand-man. Naturally, when Francois launched his eponymous pastry shop in the summer of 1997, Johnny joined the opening team and held the position of Sous Chef at Payard for six months.

Johnny's interest in pastry led him to Europe where he apprenticed in some of France's finest restaurants and patisseries, including the famed Ladudée in Paris, and completed an intensive two-week chocolate course. He returned to the United States for the debut of Café Boulud in the fall of 1998 and then moved to 65th Street for the opening of the new Daniel, where he was Executive Sous Chef for two years, during which time Comité Colbert named Johnny one of its "Emerging Young Artists" of 2000. In January of 2001, Daniel Boulud named Johnny Executive Pastry Chef; the combination of Johnny's talent, enthusiasm and his long-standing working relationship with Daniel makes him the perfect choice for this position.

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