Chef Chat: The Sweet Life with Chef Marc Forgione

Though he makes frequent TV appearances, Marc Forgione is more than a celebrity chef. He’s one half of a chef dynasty. His father, Larry Forgione, is commonly referred to as “The Godfather of American Cuisine,” and he is the youngest American-born chef and restaurant owner to receive a Michelin star in consecutive years.

As if that weren’t enough, Forgione the younger won The Next Iron Chef Season Three, authored his first cookbook, Marc Forgione: Recipes and Stories from the Acclaimed Chef and Restaurant in 2014, owns and regularly appears at restaurants in New York, Atlantic City, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and makes consistent appearances on Iron Chef America.

Lesser mortals would be overwhelmed by the thought of so many spinning plates – pun intended – but Forgione, who began working in his father’s kitchen at 16, is planning to open American Cut later this year in Atlanta.

We spoke to the chef about his favorite Puerto Rican food, his popular Doritos chicharrónes, and his upcoming high school reunion. Here’s what he had to say. [pagebreak]

TheLatinKitchen.com: Let’s start with your insanely delicious Dorito chicharrónes. Explain yourself (e.g. the ideation and development processes, initial reactions to, etc.).

Chef Marc Forgione: We were trying to come up with a way to make chicharrónes (deep-fried pork rinds) a little different, and my cooks actually buy Doritos pretty often to snack on during family meal. After some research on what goes into making the Dorito spice, it was only a matter of throwing the stuff in the dehydrator and seeing what came out.

TLK: Your website says LDV Hospitality, the company that owns American Cut Bar & Grill in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has a lot in common with Puerto Rican culture. Can you expand on that?

MF: For LDV Hospitality, whose acronym stands for La Dolce Vita or the good life, their company values and Puerto Rican culture have a lot in common since we enjoy celebrating with friends and family. We do have local dishes on the menu as well to ensure that it reflects the local flare of San Juan.

TLK: Your famous Crackerjack Sunday, Everything Biscuit, and tater tots are on the American Cut menu. How do Puerto Ricans react to them?

MF: They seem to love them – no different than here in New York. 

TLK: Any Puerto Rican chefs with whom you’ve become friendly and/or received useful advice from?

MF: Jose Enrique, Mario Pagan, Roberto Trevino, to name a few. They were all very welcoming and told me to have fun! [pagebreak]

TLK: What’s your favorite Puerto Rican food?

MF: Mamposteao.

TLK: You’re slated to open American Cut in Atlanta soon. How do you choose the cities you open in?

MF: A lot of times the opportunities actually present themselves to us. But I think Atlanta is such a great food city and as soon as we – myself and John Meadow, CEO/Founder of LDV Hospitality – visited, we knew it’d be a perfect fit for American Cut. I’m excited to be down there.

TLK: It’s been reported that 99% of your restaurants’ products are produced in house. Is that true and can you tell us why that’s important and how you make it happen?

MF: Yes, most of our food is made in-house, from the burger buns to the ketchup. It’s really important to me because I think every component of a dish is essential to the whole experience and taste.

TLK: Your high school’s 20 year reunion is coming up. Are you attending?

MF: [It] is actually this summer. Will let you know how it goes!