Miguel Trinidad

Coming Up

Miguel Trinidad trained at Institute of Culinary Education before entering New York’s restaurant scene. That education gave him a base for work that demands speed, precision, and instinct in the same service. From 2007, he worked as line cook at Lola's in SoHo, New York, NY, a formative stretch in the daily cadence of the line, where timing and execution decide the plate. He then advanced to Executive Chef at Lola's in SOHO, New York, NY, a role that points to technical command and the ability to keep a kitchen moving with consistency. He later became the mastermind behind the food menu at Golden Cadillac in East Village, New York, NY, extending that control beyond the pass and into the shape of the restaurant itself. Today, Miguel is chef-owner of Maharlika and chef-owner of Jeepney. In those roles, chef ownership means authorship: the menu, the room, and the point of view all sit under the same hand. The arc shows a chef moving from the discipline of the line to the broader work of defining a restaurant’s identity.

Signature

Miguel's signature dishes include chopped cheese raviolo, lamb patty white ragu, Arroz Caldo (Savory Rice Porridge), Pansit Molo (Wonton Soup), and Ensaymada (Cheese-Topped Yeast Buns). The list moves between comfort and construction, with familiar dishes standing beside a more hybrid item like chopped cheese raviolo. Read together, they show a menu that keeps Filipino reference points in view while making room for range, contrast, and a personal hand.

In Their Words “I get my work ethic for my father.” The line is spare, and that is what gives it weight. It points to discipline as something carried forward, not performed, and to the long habits that sit underneath service, repetition, and menu work. In trade terms, it reads as inheritance translated into consistency.

Recognition

Miguel Trinidad has received Time Out NY, Best Seafood Dish (2013).