When Mayor Bloomberg came into office there was just one executive cook at Gracie Mansion to make the VIP feasts.

Today there are three - costing  taxpayers a whopping $245,000 this year.

And despite the big spending cuts the mayor has ordered across every city agency, too many cooks won't be spoiling the broth at the city-owned mansion.According to figures revealed by the New York Daily News, his longest-serving man in the kitchen, Feliberto Estevez, picks up $97,000.

His pastry chef Jerry Montanez  who was hired in 2007 is paid $68,000 while Jose Velazquez is on $80,000 after getting a $10,000 pay rise last July.

Last autumn, there were cutbacks in the police, fire and schools and there are more job losses to come across the board.

Although the 69-year-old billionaire Bloomberg prefers to live at his upper East Side townhouse, he does a lot of entertaining at Gracie Mansion.

His spokesman Jason Post said there had been a rise in 'barbecues and receptions for agency employees and for representatives of different communities around the city.'