05/16/2026
Meet the team at Mileta: Pastry Chef James Bishop
James Bishop, also known as Bishop the Baker, made his first loaf of bread in 2013 and hasn’t stopped since. A pure Michigan native, James started his professional baking career at Madruga Bakery in Miami, FL while attending the University of Miami. There, as a leader of the baking team, James mastered the art of sourdough and croissants, and his hard work culminated in being awarded Best Baguette in Miami in 2019. Since Arriving in Lexington in 2022 he’s expanded his expertise and evolved into a full-on pastry chef through his roles at Apiary and Mileta, motivated by an overwhelming desire to create. Outside of the kitchen, that artistic impulse does not cease, but is instead channeled into music production. A fierce lover of house music, James taught himself to DJ vinyl records and became inspired to produce his own tracks. Alone as Bishop the Baker, or in his collaborative project XFILES, he’s always trying to make the people dance — whether it’s bringing a new track to life, performing live dj sets around Lexington, or developing his next delectable dessert for the Mileta menu.
