Marc Forgione

Starred review from January 20, 2014
In his first cookbook, chef/owner Forgione (a winner of Next Iron Chef) shares the story of his entry, survival, and ultimate success in the cutthroat world of the restaurant business. He recounts his “baptism by fire” along with plenty of “just cook” philosophy for aspiring chefs. From a family with an impressive culinary legacy (his father is Larry Forgione, whom the Culinary Institute of America called “Godfather of American Cuisine”), Forgione tells how hardheaded experience in the trenches and sheer ambition fueled his success. He wants to get people cooking, and along with the right tools, playful risk-taking and “kitchen ingenuity,” he plans to “make you a better cook” and stretch your “cooking muscle.” Forgione is serious about ingredients; some recipes may appear intimidating, requiring difficult-to-find ingredients such as duck tongues, micro herbs, or employing sous-vide techniques (alternate methods are provided). Signature restaurant dishes like chile lobster; Chicken Under A Brick; and 40-ounce Tomahawk Chop with all the fixings are included as well as over 200 pages of fish and shellfish dishes. Chapters featuring innovative recipes for butcher’s cuts, cocktails, and stocks and sauces bring restaurant fare to home cooks. Sidebars feature inspiring personalities, and images demonstrating how to butcher and filet. Uber-chef Forgione’s “go big or go home” approach offers both a great narrative of a chef’s life and a serious toolkit for a life of cooking well.

February 1, 2014

In this cookbook-slash-memoir, Chef Forgione, who won Season 3 of The Next Iron Chef and who owns Restaurant Marc Forgione in New York City, attempts to remove some of the stardust from the eyes of aspiring chefs while emphasizing the importance of hard work. Most of the text is comprised of 170 detailed recipes, some of which require several days to complete. For example, Forgione's signature Suck You Sliders require an overnight dry-rub cure, a six-hour braise in the oven, and another overnight rest in the cooking liquid before the sandwiches are even assembled on freshly made potato rolls. Recipes for Chicken Under a Brick and chili lobster, two more restaurant favorites, are equally involved but feature step-by-step photographs. Forgione is aware that most people will not have access to the equipment of a professional kitchen, and, where possible, he provides alternatives for preparation and execution. Both the recipes and the text allow readers to peer behind the curtain to understand the work that goes into these elaborate dishes. VERDICT Fans of Forgione and his restaurant will enjoy this title, and home cooks who feel up to a challenge will find plenty to sink their teeth into--provided they have a long weekend coming up.--Rosemarie Lewis, Georgetown Cty. Lib., SC

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2014
New York City restaurateur and television chef Forgione comes by his talent honestly. His father, Larry, was a pioneer in the farm-to-table movement that has come to dominate contemporary American cuisine. Marc's apprenticeship in France, where he foraged in the garden and plucked chickens, taught him firsthand the relationship between ingredient and plated food. He opened his own Manhattan restaurant in 2009, just in time for the recession to empty out the dining room before a Michelin star rescued the faltering business. Recipes that Forgione has adapted for the home kitchen will daunt all but the most skilled. The Caesar salad calls for the sort of food-transforming techniques normally found in molecular gastronomy. Duck tongues serve as a base for a reimagined fried chicken. Forgione very much cares how his food looks, so he serves black cod with black trumpet mushroom polenta in honor of his favorite color.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)