Jim Lahey

Jim Lahey, the owner and executive baker of Sullivan St Bakery, began his working life as a sculptor. After studying at the School of Visual Arts, his passion for art and natural beauty took him to Italy. There, he found a new medium for sculpture: bread. In and out of Tuscan bakeries by night and farmhouse kitchens by day, Lahey absorbed an array of baking and dough-making techniques. He returned to New York City determined to give the "peasant" bread of the Italian countryside a home in a modern metropolis. With that determination, Jim opened Sullivan St Bakery in 1994. Lahey has been featured in Vogue, Saveur, New York, and Gourmet, among others, and has appeared on various TV Shows including "Martha" and "Better TV." Lahey has also been featured on the Food Networks' Mario Batali and Giada De Laurentis' Christmas special and "The Secret Life of Bread" special. In November of 2006, Lahey's no-knead bread method drew the attention of "The Minimalist," culinary author Mark Bittman, resulting in a multitude of press coverage that sparked a worldwide home baking revolution. Lahey opened his first restaurant, Co. (pronounced Company), in January 2009 at 230 Ninth Avenue at 24th Street. The restaurant celebrates bread as the centerpiece of the meal and features a variety of pizzas, toasts and salads. Co. has been featured in Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, GQ, The New York Times, New York magazine, Time Out New York, The New Yorker, Daily Candy, and UrbanDaddy, among other publications. The past year has been eventful for Jim. His book, MY BREAD - inspired by those Bittman articles- has been published to great reviews.