Pete Garst — The Legend, The Myth, The Chef

In His Own Way

Born Ready for Whatever Came Next

Pete Garst arrived in New York City on April 5, 1959, and proceeded to spend the next 64 years making sure no room he entered was ever boring. A Crestwood kid through and through — the kind of guy who led his siblings on neighborhood expeditions like they were conquering uncharted wilderness, not just the backyard.

Pete lived in what some would call "aggressively" — or, as the rest of us know it, adventurously. He had opinions about golf courses. He had opinions about BBQ joints. He had feelings — deep, passionate feelings — about the New York Giants, Yankees, Rangers, and Devils. If you sat next to Pete at a game, you were going to have a very educational afternoon.

He is survived by his mother Nancy, sisters Mary Helen and Dorothy, brothers Stephen and Edward, and a collective memory of some truly spectacular moments that nobody who was there will ever fully explain to a therapist.

Memories

Four Moments Worth a Thousand Words Each

Where it all began. Crestwood never stood a chance.

Cut from the team once, he came back to win three championships. Pete later coached a winless squad that stormed the playoffs — and as a coach he turned that same grit into inspiration, because Pete always believed in finishing what you started and never met a comeback he didn't like.

Nobody ever quite knew where Pete was coming from — but he always showed up, usually with a great story and that smile that made everything feel like a party.

Classic Pete: "A man at ease with the world — chef, scout, adventurer, and always the most interesting person in the room

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Fast Facts

The Pete Garst Highlight Reel

Scouting Career

Reached the Star rank and Order of the Arrow. Also led the Copperhead pack of Troop 1 to a second-place finish at the Klondike Derby — on his final attempt. A very Pete ending.

The Crab Trap Incident

In 1973, Pete navigated buses and trains from Yonkers to Mamaroneck to buy crab traps. They were immediately swept out to sea. He was not discouraged. Not even a little.

Hockey Champion

Won three championships playing high school hockey. The man knew how to win, even if the crab traps didn't cooperate.

The Berlin Wall

Pete was in Germany for the fall of the Berlin Wall. Of course he was. He had a way of showing up exactly where history was happening.

Sports Pilgrimages

Attended the 2018 Masters in Augusta and the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach. Also attended the Kentucky Derby. The man had priorities.

Career Variety

Pete was, at various points: a caddie, a DJ, a taxi driver, a doorman, a bike messenger, a rink guard, and eventually one of the finest chefs in New York City. Never a dull decade.

The Kitchen Years

Executive Chef. Culinary Institute. Legend of the Line.

Pete graduated from the French Culinary Institute in 1995 and proceeded to run kitchens all over Manhattan — from the Supper Club on 47th Street, to Fresco on the Go on 52nd, to Eclipse Worldwide on Fashion Avenue. The man cooked for everyone.

He served as Executive Chef at Sodexo/Stony Brook University, the Aviator Sports and Events Center, and even spent his later years cooking at the Salty Whale in Manasquan, NJ — because Pete was always going to cook, regardless of the zip code.

Fun fact: His very first kitchen gig in the 1990s was the Monkey Bar on East 54th. He was also a doorman at two different nightclubs simultaneously. Multi-tasking was kind of his thing.

A Life in Chapters

The Pete Garst Timeline

1959

Born in New York City. The city has never fully recovered.

1970s

Navigates buses across Westchester for crab traps. Caddies at Leewood Golf Club. Earns Star Scout rank. High school hockey champion — three times.

1977

Graduates Roosevelt High School, Class of 1977. Further study at Westchester Community College and CUNY-Lehman College.

1980s

DJ at DePaolo's Dugout. Rink guard at Murray's Skating Rink. Summers at Gurney's Resort in Montauk. Drove a taxi for Tanglewood Taxi. The decade of infinite side hustles.

1989

Witnesses the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. Just Pete things.

1990s

Bike messenger. Nightclub doorman (two clubs). Graduates French Culinary Institute, 1995. Begins climbing the New York City kitchen ladder.

2000s

Executive Chef across some of Manhattan's most prominent restaurants and events venues. Feeds New York.

2010s

US Open at Pebble Beach. The Masters. The Kentucky Derby. MetLife Stadium — many, many times. Golf courses in four states. The Montauket Bar. Life is good.

2024

Peacefully passed away on January 2. He left behind a family who adored him, a kitchen full of recipes, and a very good story about some crab traps.

He Was There

Some of Pete's Favorite Stops Along the Way

Pebble Beach, CA — US Open '19 Augusta, GA — The Masters '18 Louisville, KY — Kentucky Derby '18 New Orleans, LA — Jazz Fest '12 Montauket Bar — Montauk, NY Dogfish Head — Rehoboth Beach Sugarloaf, ME Savannah, GA Tam O'Shanter — Hermitage, PA Comerica Park — Detroit Central BBQ — Memphis MetLife Stadium (many times) South Padre Island, TX Isle of Palms, SC Cedar Key, FL Berlin, Germany

The Garage

Pete's Automobiles, In Order

A man can be known by the cars he drove. Pete's fleet spanned six decades and every tax bracket.

1963 Corvair 1969 Grand Prix 1971 Grand Prix 1976 Maverick 2002 Honda Accord 1999 Volvo V70 2015 Kia Optima

Note: A 1963 Corvair to a 2015 Kia Optima is the automotive autobiography of a man who valued the journey over the vehicle — as long as it got him to the golf course.

In Closing

A Send-Off Worthy of Pete

"Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."

Amen.

Pete may be gone, but his adventurous spirit — and his firmly held opinions about golf courses — will live on in our hearts forever.