Genevieve Meli ‘07

Associate Professor, School of Baking and Pastry Arts, The Culinary Institute of America; Hyde Park, NY

Genevieve Meli ‘07 is associate professor in the School of Baking and Pastry Arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). It could easily be said that Genevieve was born knowing that her future professional life would be in a kitchen. Her father, Gerard Meli, was a 1977 graduate of the CIA and Genevieve grew up in her family’s restaurant. An aspiring pastry chef, Genevieve followed in her father’s footsteps and attended the CIA right out of high school, spending weekends working at Gilt at the Palace Hotel in New York City. After graduation, Genevieve began to build her career working in increasingly prestigious kitchens in some of the top restaurants in Manhattan. At Craft, she learned about seasonality; at Café Boulud and Daniel she learned precision and timing; at Le Bernardin, she had the great fortune of meeting mentor Michael Laiskonis, who taught Genevieve new techniques; and at Jacques Torres, she learned all about chocolate. Genevieve then served as the executive pastry chef at Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse and Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria. In 2016, Genevieve released her first cookbook, Sweet Nature, and began working at her alma mater teaching baking and pastry skill development to a new generation of budding pastry chefs. The Zagat Survey named Genevieve to their 30 Under 30 Rock Stars Redefining the Industry list. In 2018, Genevieve became a Certified Master Baker. She is currently working on another book with the CIA on sustainability and pastries. @genevievemeli