Wayne Nish
By: Simon
July 19, 2026 | Updated: July 22, 2026
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Wayne Nish (born July 23, 1951) is an American chef and restaurant owner best known as the chef/co-owner of March, an acclaimed New American restaurant in New York City that operated from 1990 to 2006. His cooking blends Asian, Mediterranean, and American influences into what he calls “cosmopolitan” cuisine.
Early Life and Career Change
Unlike many of New York’s top chefs, Wayne Nish didn’t always know he wanted to cook professionally. Born in 1951, he studied journalism and architecture, and had a successful career as a well-established partner in a Manhattan printing press. But at age 32, he decided to leave the world of publishing and enter the world of food.
During his training at the New York Restaurant School, Nish landed a lucky first apprenticeship at the Quilted Giraffe that blossomed into a full-time position. Chef Barry Wine’s refusal to follow the rules infected his pupil with a creative irreverence toward food combinations that remained with him ever since.
Career
In 1988, Nish became Executive Chef at La Colombe d’Or. Within four months, his innovative cooking garnered the restaurant a major three-star review from The New York Times, catapulting Nish from an unknown chef to a major star.
In 1990, Nish and partner Joseph Scalice opened March in an elegant turn-of-the-century townhouse on Sutton Place. The irreverent duo proved electric. Nish prepared an Asian-accented American menu incorporating his Japanese heritage, Provençal influences, and training at the Quilted Giraffe.
After closing March in 2006, Nish moved to Singapore where he became executive chef of the restaurant Privé. He also consulted at Varietal and Spitzer’s Corner in New York.
Awards and Recognition
- Three Stars from The New York Times (multiple years)
- Four Stars from Forbes Magazine
- Named America’s Top Restaurant by Zagat Survey (1993, 1994, 1995)
Philosophy
Nish liked to call the food at March “cosmopolitan”—a tribute to New York’s rich diversity. His dishes might combine American ingredients, Japanese marinades, Middle Eastern spices, French techniques, and Mexican vegetables on a single plate. Some of his more unusual creations—like fried shrimp in pomegranate and spicy carrot juice, “potato risotto,” and charred venison salad with beet puree—led critics to joke that Nish must be tired of normal food. But he defined normalcy according to his own special union of the imaginative and the decadent.
Wayne Nish Video
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