Michael Feker

Michael is a 27-year veteran in the restaurant industry, who dreamed of being in the kitchen since he was a child. Born in Persia, he's had the benefit of experiencing food from around the world - beginning in Switzerland where he attended school as a child. He later headed to San Francisco's California Culinary Academy (CCA) and was trained in classical French style by one of the best chefs in the country, Roberto Gerometta.

In 1990 Michael opened his own restaurant in Studio City, to showcase his style. His restaurant, IL MITO, was an overnight success on Ventura Boulevard, near Hollywood film studios. It was so popular he added a second restaurant to meet the demand of Hollywood stars and studio employees alike.

After meeting and marrying his wife, he brought his IL MITO brand to Milwaukee — her hometown — in 1997. Then in 2006, he opened his Wauwatosa location, which now has so many fans, nicknamed "the Fekeroodies." In 2008, he expanded that location to include CMF's School of Culinary Magic/Chef's Counter, where he hosts private cooking lessons, gourmet wine and beer tastings, private cooking demonstrations and corporate events.

In 2015, Michael opened Zesti in Hartland, Wisconsin. Based on his worldly travels and experiences, combined with Michael’s passion for food and culinary artistry, Zesti serves up global cuisine from South African to Chinese.

In addition to his restaurants, Michael also works as a culinary consultant to Wisconsin's largest healthcare provider, Aurora Health Care. He assists them in revamping and reviving their culinary techniques and practices to bring fresh and pure foods to both patients and staff. His cooking videos are also shown on their in-house television network for patients to view.

Chef Feker has appeared on various media outlets from radio to TV to his YouTube Channel: Milwaukee’s local WISN channel 12 (ABC); the Morning Blend on TMJ4 (NBC); Wake-Up Milwaukee, Real Milwaukee and Feker’s Kitchen, where he performs for 24 minutes as a part of the Saturday Morning Local News on FOX 6. In additional, “Feker’s Culinary Magic,” produced and directed by Feker himself, aired on Time Warner Cable as Milwaukee’s only local cooking show, where Feker performed his culinary secrets in front of a live studio audience. He can also be seen on Aurora hospitals’ in-house television network, Skylite, where patients can learn about cooking and eating healthy so that they can take better care of themselves when the leave the hospital.