Geoffrey Zakarian
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Zakarian is a chef
, restaurateur
and author
.
Zakarian began his culinary career at the Culinary Institute of America
in Hyde Park, New York
. As an apprentice chef, he began his work under chef Daniel Boulud
at Le Cirque, where he was named "Chef de Cuisine" from 1982 to 1987.
In 1990, he became the executive chef at 44, a restaurant described by The New York Times
as "trendy" and "chic," located at the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. William Grimes, also of The New York Times, has also described Zakarian as "... the reason that 44 in the Royalton Hotel was always a lot better than it needed to be" in 2001. Previously in 1992, 44 had only received 2 stars from The New York Times columnist Bryan Miller.
In 1995, he was hired to oversee Old Navy's ill fated coffee bar and coffee cart division with David Brody of Z100WHTZ
He then went on to work for the Blue Door of the Delano Hotel in South Beach
, Miami. In 1998, he became the executive chef at Patroon in Manhattan, which was awarded 3 stars (excellent) by NY Times critic Ruth Reichl. In the spring of 2000, Zakarian worked with Alain Passard
, a renowned French chef at the three-Michelin star restaurant Arpège in Paris
.
His style is described as "modern" with roots in French cuisine
, or as he describes, "dynamic American." Zakarian owned two restaurants, Town and Country, both of which are in Manhattan. They have been rated with 3 stars by The New York Times. His restaurant Town was located in the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in the Chambers Hotel and opened in Spring 2001 but had closed in 2009. Country is located in the Carlton Hotel near Madison Square Park and opened in 2005. Zakarian is now a consultant and executive chef at the Water Club in Atlantic city and the Lamb's Club in New York City
, respectively.
He has appeared numerous times on Food Network
's Chopped
series as a judge with fellow restaurateurs Scott Conant
, Chris Santos
, Aarón Sánchez
, Amanda Freitag
, Marc Murphy
and Alexandra Guarnaschelli
since the show began and has also appeared in the Food Network's newest series "24 Hour Restaurant Battle", also as a judge. He has also been on Top Chef
as a judge and has appeared in Hell's Kitchen
. Zakarian has also competed as a challenger on Iron Chef America
in May 2010 where he faced Masaharu Morimoto
and lost with a score of 57 to 43.
In the spring of 2006, Zakarian released his first book, Geoffrey Zakarian's Town / Country. It had been named as "...one of the best of 2006" by The New York Times columnist Amanda Hesser
. The book features 150 recipes for family, friends and "Life Around the Table."
In Spring 2011, Zakarian filed for personal bankruptcy in response to a class action lawsuit against him by his former employees. The employees allege he engaged in repeated and gross violation of labor laws and are suing for back pay. Two of Zakarian's partners in the related restaurant support the workers claims, but Zakarian's publicist denied the charges.
In Fall 2011, he was a competitor on The Next Iron Chef
.
Zakarian is still one of 6 competitors of The Next Iron Chef after outlasting Beau McMillian.
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Zakarian began his culinary career at the Culinary Institute of America
Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America is a non-profit culinary college located in Hyde Park USA, founded in 1946. The CIA also has branch campuses in St. Helena, California, and San Antonio, Texas, as well as a campus in Singapore. It is a not-for-profit academic institution of higher learning...
in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
. As an apprentice chef, he began his work under chef Daniel Boulud
Daniel Boulud
Daniel Boulud is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Montreal, Beijing, and Singapore...
at Le Cirque, where he was named "Chef de Cuisine" from 1982 to 1987.
In 1990, he became the executive chef at 44, a restaurant described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as "trendy" and "chic," located at the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. William Grimes, also of The New York Times, has also described Zakarian as "... the reason that 44 in the Royalton Hotel was always a lot better than it needed to be" in 2001. Previously in 1992, 44 had only received 2 stars from The New York Times columnist Bryan Miller.
In 1995, he was hired to oversee Old Navy's ill fated coffee bar and coffee cart division with David Brody of Z100WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
He then went on to work for the Blue Door of the Delano Hotel in South Beach
South Beach, Florida
South Beach is a census-designated place on Orchid Island in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,457 at the 2000 census...
, Miami. In 1998, he became the executive chef at Patroon in Manhattan, which was awarded 3 stars (excellent) by NY Times critic Ruth Reichl. In the spring of 2000, Zakarian worked with Alain Passard
Alain Passard
Alain Passard is a French chef and owner of the three star restaurant L'Arpège in Paris.The son of musicians, Passard is also passionate about music, playing the saxophone. He recently released his first book, Les Recettes des Drôles de Petites Bêtes, a recipe book written especially for children...
, a renowned French chef at the three-Michelin star restaurant Arpège in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
His style is described as "modern" with roots in French cuisine
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
, or as he describes, "dynamic American." Zakarian owned two restaurants, Town and Country, both of which are in Manhattan. They have been rated with 3 stars by The New York Times. His restaurant Town was located in the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in the Chambers Hotel and opened in Spring 2001 but had closed in 2009. Country is located in the Carlton Hotel near Madison Square Park and opened in 2005. Zakarian is now a consultant and executive chef at the Water Club in Atlantic city and the Lamb's Club in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, respectively.
He has appeared numerous times on Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
's Chopped
Chopped (TV series)
Chopped is a reality based cooking television series created by Michael Krupat, produced by Daniel Kay, and hosted by Ted Allen that pits four chefs against each other competiting for a chance to win $10,000. New episodes air every Tuesday at 10pm EST on Food Network.-Format:In each episode, four...
series as a judge with fellow restaurateurs Scott Conant
Scott Conant
Scott Conant is an American chef, restaurateur, food personality, and cookbook author.-Personal history:Conant was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. Scott is of Italian descent on his mother's side. He began cooking at a young age, taking cooking classes at the local community college at age 11...
, Chris Santos
Chris Santos
Chris Santos is a renowned New York City chef and the Executive Chef and owner of perennial Lower East Side hotspot and celebrity haunt The Stanton Social. In late 2010, he opened Beauty & Essex, a 250-seat, restaurant in the heart of the lower east side...
, Aarón Sánchez
Aarón Sanchez
Aarón Sanchez is an American chef, the executive chef and part-owner of the restaurant Centrico. He has appeared on Iron Chef America, and is one of the few chefs whose battles have ended in a draw, tying with Masaharu Morimoto in "Battle Black Bass" in Season 2...
, Amanda Freitag
Amanda Freitag
Amanda Freitag is a New York chef and frequent guest on Food Network television programming.-Early career:Following graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in 1993, Freitag took a position at Vong New York working under chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. In 1994, she left Vong to cook at...
, Marc Murphy
Marc Murphy (chef)
Marc Murphy is an executive chef, restaurateur and television food personality.-Early career:Murphy attended school at The Institute of Culinary Education and he started as a line cook at Prix Fixe in New York. By the mid 1990s, he was a sous-chef at Layla in New York and in 1996 became the...
and Alexandra Guarnaschelli
Alexandra Guarnaschelli
Alexandra "Alex" Guarnaschelli is the executive chef at New York City's Butter restaurant and a television food personality.-Background:A Manhattan native, Guarnaschelli is the daughter of cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli and John Guarnaschelli. She is a graduate of Horace Mann School and ...
since the show began and has also appeared in the Food Network's newest series "24 Hour Restaurant Battle", also as a judge. He has also been on Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
as a judge and has appeared in Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen (U.S.)
Hell's Kitchen is an American reality-television cooking competition broadcast on Fox...
. Zakarian has also competed as a challenger on Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
in May 2010 where he faced Masaharu Morimoto
Masaharu Morimoto
is a well-known Japanese chef, best known as the third Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show Iron Chef, and an Iron Chef on its spinoff, Iron Chef America. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food....
and lost with a score of 57 to 43.
In the spring of 2006, Zakarian released his first book, Geoffrey Zakarian's Town / Country. It had been named as "...one of the best of 2006" by The New York Times columnist Amanda Hesser
Amanda Hesser
Amanda Hesser is an American food writer, editor and cookbook author. She was the food editor of The New York Times Magazine and the editor of T Living, a quarterly publication of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
. The book features 150 recipes for family, friends and "Life Around the Table."
In Spring 2011, Zakarian filed for personal bankruptcy in response to a class action lawsuit against him by his former employees. The employees allege he engaged in repeated and gross violation of labor laws and are suing for back pay. Two of Zakarian's partners in the related restaurant support the workers claims, but Zakarian's publicist denied the charges.
In Fall 2011, he was a competitor on The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
.
Zakarian is still one of 6 competitors of The Next Iron Chef after outlasting Beau McMillian.
External links
- Profile at The Lambs Club