Chef Mike will HEADLINE @
San Gennaro Feast in 2025…
“Being invited to participate in the Feast of San Gennaro is an incredible honor—not only as a chef, but as someone deeply connected to Italian culture and tradition. This festival is the heart of Little Italy, a celebration that has carried on for nearly a century, and to be part of it is something I will cherish forever. I’m thrilled to share my passion with so many people from around the world who come to experience the magic of San Gennaro. My goal is to honor the classics we all know and love, while also bringing something new to the table—dishes that celebrate the past while giving a taste of the future of Italian cuisine. I can’t wait to serve it up on Mulberry Street this September.”
— Chef Mike
My Secret
Ingredient
isn't an ingredient
at all?
It's more of a philosophy and way of being.
Most importantly, they chose me to make it happen. I always wonder what happens if I fail. Then I have to psyche myself out, pump myself up, so that I never fail.
So on the day of a big dining event while I’m standing in the kitchen hours before, I think about everything I need to buy, prepare, and what I’ll need to create the best possible event and culinary experience I can.
The process goes like this: After the client and I have discussed the budget and all the details and they’ve ordered for their specific and customized menu.
Sometimes they’ll say that “money is no object,” or “whatever it costs, it costs.”
These are my favorite clients not because of the money (although that’s always nice) but because they want to create a long—lasting memory or an unforgettable experience. And it means a lot to me that they trust me
through word-of-mouth or, have watched some of my Instagram Reels or, have read all of my Google reviews.
This usually creates fear and a little stress and for me it’s the kind of stressor I need to make sure that I don’t ever fail. So far (knock on wood) I’m blessed with getting there on time, being overly prepared (even if a lot of things can go wrong), and I’m pretty great at finding the right, talented people, to assist me with many events.
You might see me as totally calm, cool and collected but all the doubts I may or may not have is just my way of doing my pregame practice.
So naturally, I have to perform better than the last event and twice as good as the event before that. This way when a client hires me a second, third, or fourth time, I’m probably going to show up 5-10 times better than the
last time I worked for them.
I’ve been doing scores of We Makin’ Pasta parties and the Grazzing Tables are a lot fun to do too. So now people are calling me for confirmations, communions,
graduations and retirement parties and my goal is always the same:
How can I be...
1% or 2%
...better than all of the other events I’ve ever done before.
CREATING A VERY SPECIAL EVENT OR
CREATING A MEMORY THAT LASTS AN
ENTIRE LIFETIME.
It’s best to first let me know what the objectives are, and what experience(s) you want to create or what memories you want to leave in the guests or in the CELEBRANT or HONOREE.
Let's plan something for friends, lovers, and the Family, that they won't soon forget.
Chef Mike DiLeo
What if every
Summer
never ended?
Hmmmm. I have to think about this
one a little more (wife and kids).
You can tell I'm happy on the inside.
Just a few more weeks left to this one.
This whole summer has
been amazing. Here are
some highlight pictures:
You can tell I'm happy on the outside.
Happy on the inside and the outside.
A hard and fast
CHEF MIKE RULE:
If I wouldn't eat it, I wouldn't
expect anyone else to either.
Watermelon Cups
Everyone loves a nice, healthy serving of BBQ Ribs.
NEW: Ciao for now....
Brand New food Concepts
coming in the fall and winter…
Thank you, thank you, thank you.....
Summer has been such a blessing.
As you probably can see on my
INSTAGRAM, we’ve been slammed,
back to back, all summer long. We are
very grateful for all the support from
our clients.
Winding Down the Summer.
Yes, another Summer bites the sunset.
Filet Mignon
Towards the Summer’s end.
You just have to try this one HOT off the grill.
Now, as we count down to the end
of summer be sure to get those
last minute party plans ready before
school starts back again.
But, don’t worry, we are working on
a lot of great ideas and cool concepts
for the fall and winter…
As crazy as it sounds, Christmas parties
are already starting to get booked up.
From my team to yours… see you soon!
When life gives you… pizza(s)…
eat it all, bit by bit, bite by bite,
until it is all gone.
Chef Mike now offers at home
artisan style pizzas cooked on-site
in his new table top pizza oven.
This add-on package creates three
freshly made pizzas for all guests
to enjoy... throughout the night.
The New Oven.
White pie with prosciutto, truffle and arugula.
The Margarita Pie.
The Pepperoni Pie.
How it all Started
.... And has it really been 5 years already?
In July 2020 a good friend, Danielle Cabral,
called me up and said she was hanging out
with her friends in her backyard to watch a
UFC fight. She wanted me to cook for them.
And, she didn’t just want a standard three
course meal. She wanted a show. #RHONJ
Danielle was always over the top and
Boujee which is why she’s lovingly
known as the “Boujee Mama”.
She wanted me to do a show for each course with a play-by-play on how I prepared each dish. She also wanted hand-crafted cocktails with each course, which is my hidden passion. At the time this kind of special event was not in my wheelhouse as an executive Chef.
I was previously in an a la carte service restaurant. These types of events aren’t ideal to fit into a normal work schedule. Somehow I made it work. I did the show.
Executive Chef Mike was started and branded in
October of 2020. It all started with one package,
and just one employee.
Today we have over ten packages for clients to
choose and over ten employees who are traveling
through the Tri-state area. We make steady
improvements with each new event.
These improvements are there to make sure
that our clients and happier with us than all
the previous events.
It's a Happy Fifth Anniversary to me but, it's really a Happy Anniversary to you, my clients, and helping to bring the Chef Mike experience to others.
Thank you so very much,
Mike DiLeo
Independence
Weekend
.... A birthday party for the nation.
During the 4th, 5th and 6th, we fed over 150 ppl. The whole weekend celebration extended from backyard BBQs to our newest invention…
a Boozy Brunch Grazzing Table.
We traveled from Staten Island
to Tom’s River to Point Pleasant.
Most recent…
OUT of the
ORDINARY
for the Chef Mike Brand.
...a little.
Chef Mike carefully curated a diner-like menu for the celebrity hair stylist Kevin Kelly and The Kevin Kelly vision. This was a moment he
committed to giving back to the community.
Kevin designed a retro style diner pop up in his Keyport, New Jersey hair salon for two days: June 22nd and 23rd (2025).
Through a carefully considered decision-making process, Chef Mike brought back his famous fried provolone burger with truffle aioli.
He also added a delicious strawberry cream cheese stuffed French toast to support the retro theme.
There were also a few other excellent breakfast and lunch delicacies to create a real experience.
The event was then featured on
news 12 New Jersey with Syma Chowdhry.
There was a lot of great feedback and the event got a huge response. So this means that the collab may just happen, one day again, in the future.
Most recent…
See who Chef Mike hangs with
when he isn’t working for you….
Mike “The Situation”
from the Jersey Shore.
Not once but twice I worked the parties for “The Situation”.
The first was his season premiere party for the 8th season of Jersey Shore family vacation. I made his favorite snacks of 1. chicken and waffles, 2. burger sliders, 3. pizza and 4. pasta.
The second visit was to celebrate his new business venture of Archangel Center Premier Recovery and Wellness Center. Here we christened his new outdoor pizza oven along with meatball parmesan, cacio e Pepe and more burger sliders.
Now showing…
See who Chef Mike is, and what he does….
Click the above image to
see the NJ News segment.
