Who is Geoffrey Zakarian?
Geoffrey Zakarian was born under the sign of Leo on July 25, 1959, in Worcester, Massachusetts USA, of American, Armenian and Polish descent, and of American nationality – he is now 60 years old. the cast of reality TV cooking shows such as “Chopped,” “The Next Iron Chef,” and “Iron Chef America,” all airing on the Food Network. Geoffrey is also a well-known author of two cookbooks.
How rich is he now?
Geoffrey Zakarian’s net worth exceeds $6 million. His successful career as a chef is the main source of this amount of money, but he also got rich through appearances on various cooking shows and the sale of his cookbooks.
posted by Geoffrey Zakarian on Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Youth, parents, siblings
The celebrity chef was raised in his hometown of Worcester alongside two siblings, by his father, George H. Zakarian, who was a WWII veteran, musician and member of the 181st Infantry Band, and his wife, Viola Virginia Hekowicz. He is the brother of George H. Zakarian Jr. and Cynthia V. Zakarian.
Educational background
Geoffrey attended Burncoat High School and, after matriculation in 1977, enrolled at Worcester State University, from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. Subsequently, he moved to France, then having made the decision to become a chef, returned to study at the Culinary Institute of America, located in Hyde Park, New York, from where he obtained his associate degree in 1982.
Early career
Geoffrey began his culinary career in 1983, when he started working as a pastry sous-chef for “Le Cirque” under the direction of the great French chef Alain Sailhac. He spent five years there, during which time he was promoted to executive chef. In 1987, he began working as an executive chef at “21Club”, then at the “44” restaurant at the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan, New York in 1988 – his job also included helping the restaurant achieve three stars from the New York Times. .
Become famous as a chef
In 1995, Geoffrey was hired to oversee Old Navy’s coffee cart division and crumbling coffee bar, alongside David Brody, which was followed the same year by his employment at the “Blue Door” of the Navy. Hotel Delano, located in Miami. Two years later, he was appointed executive chef of “Patroon” in Manhattan; under his tenure, he received three stars from New York Times columnist Ruth Reichl. Then he worked alongside the renowned chef Alain Passard at the famous French restaurant “Arpège”, located in Paris, which was awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide. Thus, his name has become one of the most recognized names in the restaurant business.
Since 2007, he has worked as a consultant at “The Water Club” at Borgata in Atlantic City, and since 2010 as an executive chef at “The Lamb’s Club” located at the Chatwal Hotel in New York.
restaurant owner
Geoffrey opened his first restaurant, “Town”, at the Chambers Hotel in Manhattan in 2001; although it was a three-star restaurant, it closed eight years later. In addition to this, he also opened the restaurant in the Carlton Hotel called “Country”, also in Manhattan, in 2005. Thanks to his hard work, he received not only three stars from the New York Times but also from the Michelin Guide .
Additionally, Geoffrey also opened “The National” at the Benjamin Hotel in New York in 2010, then moved to Florida to open “Tudor House” at Dream South Beach. Three years later, he collaborated with Norwegian Cruise Lines on their restaurants and recently opened “Counter Point” and “Point Royal”, both at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida.
Cookbooks
Geoffrey co-published alongside David Gibbons her first cookbook – “Geoffrey Zakarian’s Town/country: 150 Recipes For Life Around The Table” – in 2006. New York Times reviewer Amanda Hesser named it one of the best books of the year, while it was also named Editor’s Choice by The New York Times Book Critic.
Her second cookbook, titled “My Perfect Pantry: 150 Easy Recipes from 50 Essential Ingredients,” came out in 2014.
TV career
After being offered to join the cast of Food Network’s ‘Chopped’ TV cooking show, Geoffrey has appeared as a judge alongside restaurateurs such as Amanda Freitag, Chris Santos, Mane and Chauhan, since his first in January 2009. The following year he became a contestant on the cooking show ‘Iron Chef America: The Series”, in which he lost to celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto. However, he became the winner of “The Next Iron Chef” after beating celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner in December 2011.
In 2014, Geoffrey has gotten very busy since being cast as co-host the food web cooking-themed talk show “The Kitchen” alongside Katie Lee, Sunny Anderson, Jeff Mauro and Marcela Valladolid. Between 2016 and 2017, he hosted another Food Network show, titled “Cooks Vs. Cons”. Additionally, he also appeared as a judge on shows such as “The Chew”, “Chopped Junior” and “Beat Bobby Flay”, among many others.
Controversies and legal issues
Geoffrey’s former employees sued him for back pay for allegedly violating labor laws, so he filed for personal bankruptcy in 2011.
Although two of his partners agreed with them, Geoffrey’s publicists denied this and the matter was settled out of court. In July 2015, he retired from The restaurant planned by Donald Trump, after the latter made inappropriate comments related to illegal immigrants. The restaurant should be called “The National” and be placed in the Hotel Trump International in Washington, D.C. After dropping out, Geoffrey forfeited his $500,000 bond for the lease, while the Trump Organization sued for $10 million in damages related to his departure. However, the issue was resolved out of court in 2017.
There’s nothing a little lemon zest can’t fix. Am I right? pic.twitter.com/lcu7t770R0
— Geoffrey Zakarian (@gzchef) September 30, 2019
Appearance and Vital Stats
- Short gray hair
- Green eyes
- Height – 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m)
- Weight – Unknown
- Body measurements – Unknown
Personal life: Ex-wife, wife Margaret Anne Williams
Geoffrey Zakarian was married to Heather Karaman for ten years. Later he married Margaret Anne Williams in a private wedding ceremony held in 2005 at Our Lady of Lebanon Roman Catholic Church in Niagara Falls, New York. His wife is from Buffalo, NY, and works as a branding manager for 3Sixty Hospitality.
Their children and their residence
The couple have three children – their first child, a daughter named Margaret Zakarian, in 2007, then Anna was born two years later, while the couple welcomed their third child, a son named George Harris Zakarian, in 2014. The family lives in Manhattan. , New York City.
