“I'd rather be a failure at something I love, than a success at something I hate.”- George Burns

Edward Sylvia brings a wealth of knowledge, leadership and culinary expertise as the executive chef and owner of Cer té, one of New York City's most popular café and catering treasures.

Edward was born in Long Island, New York and he had his first taste of culinary success during his teen years. He and his cousin ran a small, successful catering company out of his family’s delicatessen. During these years Edward also played football, his future in athletics was promising. Upon high school graduation he decided against a football scholarship and pursued his passion in culinary arts.

He passed up the scholarship and focused on growing his catering business. Edward attended the Arts Institute in New York to expand his knowledge and offer his clients more. During the economic downturn of 1991, Edward decided to trade in his catering business for knowledge.

His first full time commitment was an unpaid position at Bouley. There he learned to treat ingredients with the utmost care. He then went on to work at Arizona 206 where he developed knowledge on how to take a cuisine and refine it by adding dimensions. Edward’s next position was held at Aquavit, he also helped open sister restaurant Snaps with his good friend Chef PG Gustaffson. His most valued experience was under Chef Michel Propseri, Prosperi taught Edward how to achieve success inside the white tiles of the kitchen. This prepared him to lead and run kitchens at high profile establishments such as the Broadway Millenium Hotel and Petrossion restaurant. His entrepreneurial instinct made him take a job outside of luxury dining at Lyns Café to help grow their corporate catering business. That endeavor has turned out to be the highlight of his career. He has turned the former Lyn’s café into Manhattan’s most prestigious café and catering company. Starting out as the executive Chef at Lyn’s he quickly saw the value in creating corporate dining for companies that had the need for in house catering. His meticulous direction led him to taking over Lyn’s and creating Cer té. The word comes from the word Certainty. This has grown to be the company’s mantra; “We don’t just sell food, we sell certainty”

Chef has been privileged to have prepared food for private parties and corporate events for high profile companies such as Louis Vuitton, Major League Baseball, NBC/Universal, Bravo, and for numerous fashion week clients. He has made frequent appearances on local and national television.

He lives in Long Island with his wife Kristen and their three children, Alex, Jackie and Ryan.