Rising Star Pastry Chef Mina Pizarro of Juni - Biography

Despite growing up in the Philippines surrounded by women who cooked, Mina Pizarro never felt a natural affinity for this labor of love so central to Filipino culture. When she moved to New Jersey at the age of 12, her aspirations still lay beyond the kitchen: she wanted to graduate college and become a TV personality.

Pizarro moved on to production and advertising—a position that flipped a switch on her creative drive. Looking for a better creative outlet, she found a work-study position at the Institute for Culinary Education, which allowed her to test the waters before committing to full tuition. Falling for pastry, Pizarro committed first to nine months, then a career.

A formative internship at Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne led to a job offer, and while Pizarro had originally planned on working in bakeries, she instead got a series of influential teachers in various fine-dining kitchens, including DB, Le Cirque, and Per Se. Pizarro worked as pastry chef at Veritas and SHO Shaun Hergatt before decamping to California, a pivotal change of scenery and mentality. Returning to New York and infused with a West Coast perspective, Pizarro worked first for Cesare Casella at Il Ristorante, then took the helm at Shaun Hergatt’s Juni, where her creativity—unleashed—blends with a California-inspired vitality that no doubt makes her Filipino family proud.