Michael Bloise '98

As a former executive chef of Wish in Miami Beach, rated one of the top 20 restaurants in the country by Esquire magazine, Michael Bloise can look back and point to certain events in his career that have led him to where he is today.

Michael started his career at 14, working in a bakery, and then at various restaurants. He strived to learn everything he could about the industry. Michael said, “I realized I didn’t know a whole lot, so there was only one way I was going to find out. And that was by asking a lot of questions and learning from everyone above and below me.”
 
It was those conversations that led him to Johnson & Wales. “The chefs at the restaurant where I worked talked about J&W; the high energy of the faculty and the focus on formality mixed with creativity that is so conducive to fine dining.”  After graduation, Michael worked at top Miami restaurants including 1220 at the Tides, The Gaucho Room, Tantra and Wish. In 2003, Michael was invited to be executive chef at Wish. “I can honestly say that the excellent hands-on training and education I received from Johnson & Wales has helped lead me to where I am today.”
 
Not only has Michael worked in many of the top restaurants in the Miami area, he has obtained, for Wish, the coveted Mobil Travel Guide Four-Star Award and the AAA Four-Diamond Award. Recently, Michael was invited to prepare a five-plus course dinner at The James Beard House in New York City, an honor bestowed on a select few culinary artists from around the world. In 2008, he was named one of StarChef's.com's Rising Star for South Florida, after redefining his flavor combinations through his travels through Vietnam and Italy.
 
Michael was invited back to J&W's North Miami Campus on January 10th and 12th, to be honored as a Distinguished Visiting Chef.  This not only gave Michael the opportunity to serve as a guest instructor, but he got to produce a dinner with 30 current students from the College of Culinary Arts.  The proceeds from the Distinguished Visiting Chef dinner benefited J&W's scholarship fund. Dorothy McCoy, a junior culinary arts student from Pittsgrove, N.J., had an opportunity to work with Michael and received a $2,000 scholarship at the January 12 dinner.