Marc Forgione was born on December 16, 1978, and raised in Bellerose, New York. He began his career at the age of 16, joining his father, Larry Forgione, in the kitchen at An American Place. He is one of the Iron Chefs competing on Food Network’s Iron Chef America and owner of restaurant Marc Forgione in New York City. Chef Forgione competed on and won season three of The Next Iron Chef in 2010.
Marc opted for a traditional four-year education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he graduated from the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. He spent his summers working the line at restaurants in New York, with chef Kazuto Matsusaka. When Laurent Tourondel set out to develop his flagship, BLT Steak, he recruited Marc as his sous chef. After this, Marc left for France in an effort to diversify his experiences. There, he secured a series of humble posts under Michel Guerard in Eugenie les Bains. He worked at three of the region’s restaurants, Le Pres D’Eugenie,Ferme aux Grives and Le Cuisine Minceur.
When he returned to New York, Marc reunited with Tourondel, who invited him to serve as chef de cuisine at BLT Prime. The restaurant would go on to earn sterling accolades from relevant publications nationwide, culminating in a 27 in the Zagat Guide, making it the highest-ranking steakhouse in the history of New York City. Following his role as chef de cuisine, Marc was named corporate chef for the BLT Restaurant Group, a position that enabled him to develop recipes and maintain the quality of the BLT brand as it went on to include more restaurants across the country.
Restaurant Marc Forgione, formerly known as Forge, Marc’s first restaurant, received a coveted Michelin star in the Michelin Guide New York City 2012, making him the youngest American-born chef to receive the honor in consecutive years (2010, 2011, 2012). In addition, Marc received a two-star review from Sam Sifton of The New York Times.
Restaurants:
Restaurant Marc Forgione
134 Reade Street
New York, NY 10003
American Cut
363 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
500 Boardwalk at The Revel
Atlantic City, NJ 08401
