CULINARY MAESTRO

Culinary kingpin Mario Carbone on his keys to success and the perfect decadent meal

- CHRIS WILSON

Mario Carbone’s Major Food Group hospitality brand is hotter than the signature spicy rigatoni served at his wildly popular Carbone restaurants. Founded with fellow chef Rich Torrisi and entrepreneur Jeff Zalaznick in 2011, MFG has grown from an intimate downtown Manhattan eatery, Torrisi Italian Specialties, into an ever-expanding global luxury powerhouse that’s set to span restaurants, members-only clubs, hotels and even private residences.

Major Food Group maintains an empire of enduringly trendy eateries in New York, Miami, Dallas, Boston and Las Vegas and beyond, courtesy of enduringly trendy tentpoles Carbone, Sadelle’s, Torrisi, ZZ’s Club, The Grill, Contessa, Dirty French and Parm.

The in-demand brand has branched out from its early elevated redsauce concepts with elite venues including The Crown Club at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, a planned luxury condo building in Miami, and a Carbone/ZZ’s hybrid destination in New York’s Hudson Yards. We recently caught up with Mario Carbone to talk about future plans, advice for hospitality entrepreneurs, and the ideal meal from his favorite MFG spots.

From New York’s original Carbone to Miami’s Contessa and Dirty French Steakhouse, your restaurants all have a distinctive look. Is there a unifying design theme or philosophy for Major Food Group?