Celebrity Chef Speaker Chef Ben Pollinger is the Executive Chef of the famous Michelin star seafood restaurant, Oceana in New York City since 2006. The restaurant recently was named one of 100 best wine restaurants in 2013 by Wine Enthusiast and has received rave reviews throughout the years from New York Post and the New York Times. An avid gardener, Pollinger has a profound and respectful perspective of the intricacies that go into creating an exquisite meal. This respect for food is one of the main reasons that Chef Ben has been able to maintain the Michelin star at Oceana for the seven years he has been Executive Chef.

Always the straight-A student, Chef Ben graduated valedictorian of his class from Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY and went on to work for master chef Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo where he began his culinary training. From there, Pollinger returned to New York where he obtained jobs working at Les Celebrites and Lespinasse for renowned chef Christian Delouvrier, Union Square Café where he trained under Chef Michael Romano, and finally, at Cardoz at Tabla where he learned from Chef Floyd Cardoz.

Chef Pollinger has been featured on countless television programs for his distinctive style of cooking, including The Martha Stewart Show, ABC News’ Chef’s Table, and NBC’s Today Show. Chef Ben also has been the subject of articles in Food and Wine magazine and Esquire where they titled him rising star chef.

Celebrity Chef Speaker Ben Pollinger is also a big believer in giving back, spending much of his time outside of Oceana doing work for a number charities. He works with City Harvest, Autism Speaks, the James Beard Foundation, and Share Our Strength. In addition, Ben is an advisor to the Alaskan Seafood Marketing Institute, serves on the Curriculum Advisory Committee at the French Culinary Institute, and is an advisor for The Gohan Society.