Michael Chernow

Michael Chernow started working in restaurants as a teenager on New York City’s Upper East Side. He has since built a successful career in the industry including seven years at Frank Prizanzano's eponymous flagship restaurant, Frank, where he cultivated a large, loyal following. In 2007, Michael enrolled in the French Culinary Institute, graduating with honors and an associate’s degree in both Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management at the end of the two-year program. In 2010, Michael teamed up with his childhood friend Daniel Holzman and debuted The Meatball Shop in New York City's Lower East Side.

The mix-and-match menu of meatballs, served in a warm and convivial environment, was an instant hit. Five more locations of The Meatball Shop—in Williamsburg, the West Village, Chelsea, the Upper East Side, and the Hell's Kitchen—opened in quick succession. Michael also co-authored The Meatball Shop Cookbook, which was published to much acclaim in 2011. A passionate fisherman since childhood, Michael combined his love of fishing and his culinary expertise with Seamore’s in New York City, which opened in the summer of 2015 to immediate and consistent buzz. Michael has appeared in countless broadcast segments including ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s TODAY Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as in an array of widely reaching local and national publications such as The New York Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, People, Food Network Magazine and GQ.