In 1990, he became the executive chef at 44 in the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. William Grimes of The New York Times described Zakarian as "the reason that 44 in the Royalton Hotel was always a lot better than it needed to be" in 2001.[9] Previously in 1992, 44 had received only two stars from New York Times columnist Bryan Miller.[7]
In 1996, he was hired to oversee Old Navy's ill-fated coffee bar and coffee cart division with David Brody of Z100 WHTZ. He then went on to work for the Blue Door of the Delano Hotel in South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.[10] In 1998, he became the executive chef at Patroon in Manhattan, which was awarded three stars (excellent) by New York Times critic Ruth Reichl. In the spring of 2000, Zakarian worked with Alain Passard, a renowned French chef at the three-Michelin star restaurant Arpège in Paris.[7]
In the 2000s, Zakarian owned two Manhattan restaurants, Town and Country, both of which were rated three stars by The New York Times. Town was located on the East Side of midtown Manhattan in the Chambers Hotel and opened in spring 2001 but closed in 2009.[11] Country was located in the James New York – NoMad near Madison Square Park and opened in 2005 but closed in 2008. The restaurant has earned a Michelin Star. Zakarian is now a consultant at the Water Club in Atlantic City and executive chef at the Lamb's Club in New York City.[11] The Lamb's Club restaurant is not connected in any way to the historical theatre club The Lambs (known as The Lambs Club since 1874). In the spring of 2006, Zakarian released his first book, Geoffrey Zakarian's Town / Country. It was quoted as being "one of the best (cookbooks) of 2006" by The New York Times columnist Amanda Hesser.[12] The book features 150 recipes for family, friends, and "Life Around the Table".[13]
He is chairman of the City Harvest Food Council, a food rescue organization dedicated to fighting hunger in New York City.
His style is described as "modern" with roots in French cuisine, or as he describes it, "dynamic American".[citation needed]
Legal issues
In spring 2011, Zakarian filed for personal bankruptcy in response to a class action lawsuit filed against him by his former employees. The employees alleged he violated labor laws and sued for back pay. Two of his partners in the related restaurant supported the workers' claims but his publicist denied the claims.[14] The matter was settled out of court.
In July 2015, Zakarian withdrew from a planned American-style concept restaurant called The National in the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C. in the wake of controversial comments made by Donald Trump about undocumented immigrants. Trump's statements "do not in any way align with my personal core values", Zakarian said. "We are a nation built from immigrants, my family included."[15] He was expected to lose a $500,000 lease deposit.[16] Trump sued Zakarian in August 2015 for a sum "in excess of $10 million" for lost rent and other damages.[17] The matter was settled out of court in April 2017.
Zakarian married Margaret Anne Williams, a marketing executive, in 2005.[6] They have three children. He was previously married to Heather Karaman for approximately ten years.[6]
