Nicholas Leiss

Originally from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Chef Nicholas’s culinary journey began at the age of five when he started cooking alongside his grandmothers on a step stool, before he could even reach the stove. His mother, a chef as well, instilled a passion in him to cook for others. This led to his first cooking job at age 13, working alongside his mother at the restaurant she ran.

With a few years of cooking professionally under his belt. He enrolled in the local culinary program where he met his first mentor Chef Corle, where they molded him even further into a chef and helped build a solid foundation. Shortly after graduation, he began working for a CIA alumni, Chef Gipe, in Hershey, where he furthered his career. Always wanting to learn something new everyday, he decided to attend The Culinary Institute of America with the support of Chef Gipe. In 2010, he graduated from The Culinary Institute of America and was ready to dive into his career.

Over the years, he worked for some great restaurants and mentors from New York City to the Hudson Valley. He was fortunate to work for Tom Colicchio at Colicchio & Sons, Chefs Club by Food & Wine, and Gunter Seeger at his farm-to-table Michelin Star restaurant in NYC. He learned to balance the NYC chef life with many Hudson Valley restaurants. Global Palate, The Roundhouse and Valley Restaurant are some places that nurtured my passion for farm-to-table cuisine. My mentor Brandon Collins, taught me how to cook with the seasons, respecting the incredible bounty of fresh ingredients and taking advantage of them at their peak.

Always wanting to push himself, he took his career to 3 Michelin Star Restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen, which many consider one of the world’s top restaurants. After his time at Noma, Nicholas came back to New York and ran his own business Farm2ChefsTable that focused on creating dinner experiences that offered hyper local seasonal tasting menus throughout the Hudson Valley in New York.