Geoffrey Zakarian

Geoffrey Zakarian is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. Born on July 25, 1959, in Worcester, Massachusetts, he is the son of George Zakarian, an Armenian-American musician, and Viola (née Hekowicz), a Polish-American mother. He grew up with a sister, Virginia, and a brother, George. Zakarian graduated from Burncoat High School in 1977 and went on to earn a degree in economics from Worcester State University. After a trip to France inspired him to pursue a career in cooking, he earned an associate degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Zakarian started his professional culinary training as an apprentice under chef Daniel Boulud at Le Cirque, where he served as Chef de Cuisine from 1982 to 1987. In 1990, he was named executive chef at 44 in the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. In 1996, he worked with David Brody to oversee Old Navy's coffee bar and coffee cart division, later working at the Blue Door at the Delano Hotel in South Beach, Florida. In 1998, he became executive chef at Patroon in Manhattan, which received a three-star review from The New York Times. In the spring of 2000, Zakarian worked alongside French chef Alain Passard at the restaurant Arpège in Paris.

During the 2000s, Zakarian owned two Manhattan establishments, Town and Country, both receiving three-star reviews from The New York Times. Town operated in the Chambers Hotel from 2001 to 2009, while Country operated near Madison Square Park from 2005 to 2008 and earned a Michelin Star. His restaurant and culinary roles extended to locations in New York City, Atlantic City, and Miami, including acting as a consultant at the Water Club in Atlantic City and executive chef at the Lamb's Club in New York City. His culinary approach is described as modern with French roots, or dynamic American.

In the spring of 2006, Zakarian released his debut cookbook, "Geoffrey Zakarian's Town / Country," featuring 150 recipes. Outside the kitchen, he serves as chairman of the City Harvest Food Council, an organization dedicated to rescuing food and combating hunger in New York City.

Zakarian has maintained a prominent presence on the Food Network. He joined the panel of judges on "Chopped" at its inception and has appeared on "24 Hour Restaurant Battle," "Top Chef," "Hell's Kitchen," and "Cutthroat Kitchen." After competing on "Iron Chef America" in 2010, he won "The Next Iron Chef" in December 2011 to join "Iron Chef America." In January 2014, he became a co-host on "The Kitchen," and in 2016 he began hosting "Cooks vs. Cons." He also appeared as a contestant on "Wildcard Kitchen" in 2025.

Zakarian was married to Heather Karaman for roughly ten years. In 2005, he married marketing executive Margaret Anne Williams, with whom he has three children. In 2011, Zakarian filed for personal bankruptcy due to a labor law class action lawsuit from former employees, which was ultimately settled out of court. In July 2015, he withdrew from a planned restaurant at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., resulting in a lawsuit from Donald Trump that was settled out of court in April 2017.