Restaurateur, Chef, and Author Geoffrey Zakarian operates The National and The Lambs Club in New York City and Tudor House on Miami’s South Beach. His culinary ambitions were fostered at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. In 1982, Geoffrey Zakarian became Apprentice Chef at Le Cirque, earning a position as Chef de Cuisine under Alain Sailhac. He transitioned to Executive Chef with ‘21’ Club in 1987, taking his talents to Forty Four at the Royalton the following year. As Executive Chef, Mr. Zakarian put the hotel restaurant on the map as a stylish and trendsetting dining location.

In 1995, Geoffrey Zakarian opened Blue Door at the Delano hotel in Miami, and two years later, he reestablished Aretsky’s Patroon as a leading New York dining establishment. The new menu he oversaw as Executive Chef drew excellent reviews, culminating in a three-star rating from The New York Times. Mr. Zakarian became a restaurant owner in 2001, launching Town as a personal expression of his culinary and decorative sensibility. Four years later, he opened Country, tied to his two previous establishments through a contemporary American menu with classical French elements. In the mid-2000s, Geoffrey Zakarian accepted a consulting role with The Water Club at Borgata in Atlantic City. His achievements in designing banquet, lounge, and in-room menus, as well as overall hospitality experiences, have earned him critical applause.

Mr. Zakarian partnered with his wife, Margaret, and several other industry veterans in launching The Lambs Club in 2010. The restaurant’s name pays tribute to the landmark West 44th Street theater club the building originally housed. Members of the club included luminaries of early 20th-century stage and film, such as W.C. Fields, John Barrymore, Irving Berlin, and Fred Astaire. Geoffrey Zakarian oversaw a full restoration of the restaurant’s French limestone fireplace and completed the décor by placing black and white photographs of the original members on the walls of the bar-and-grill establishment.

Allowing readers a glimpse of the recipes behind his successful restaurants, Mr. Zakarian authored the 2006 cookbook Town/Country: 150 Recipes for Life Around the Table (Clarkson Potter). He finds inspiration for his restaurants in fashion and style trends, having spent significant time studying in the European cultural capitals of Paris and London. A recurrent judge on Television Food Network programs 24 Hour Restaurant Battle and Chopped, Geoffrey Zakarian most recently competed on The Next Iron Chef.