Marc Murphy is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and television personality. Since Marc was a child, he has lived all over the world and been exposed to a diverse blend of culinary creativity. While Marc did not attend college, he did attend the Institute of Culinary Education in New York where he began to develop his culinary skills, growing into the renowned chef he is today.
Growing up, Marc struggled with dyslexia and found it difficult to perform in school and fit in with others. Once he began to cook, he finally realized that he was good at something, and even better, that he really enjoyed it.
Marc has appeared as a regular judge on the culinary cooking competition show, Chopped and appeared on shows like Iron Chef America, Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped, Tournament of Champions, and Guy’s Ranch Kitchen. Marc recently opened his new concept restaurant, Marc179, in New York. The restaurant offers accessible French and Italian dishes that change every month. The experience is a $75 prix fixe menu, open on just three exclusive days a month. The space is also home to MM Kitchen Studio, a private event space, demo kitchen, and filming studio.
Marc will be making an appearance at Bourbon and Beyond this weekend in Louisville to do a cooking presentation with singer songwriter Mat Kearney who is also performing live at the festival.
We had the opportunity to meet with Marc Murphy on Chefs Making Waves, a food, wine and spirits festival on the ocean. We chatted about his cooking in Poland, what it’s like to be on Tournament of Champions, and his advice for people looking to travel.
You traveled to Poland to cook for Ukrainian refugees with World Central Kitchen. Why was that important to you?
For me, it was one of those moments where we had all gone through COVID. I didn’t have a restaurant, so I couldn’t really pitch in and help at the moment. I had closed all my restaurants right before COVID, which was lucky for me, but also, I didn’t feel like I could contribute. The chef community always pulls together and helps out a lot. There was a lot of support.
I was coming back from the Miami Food & Wine Festival. Then the war broke out and I thought, well, I didn’t have anything on my calendar, except I think a couple shows for Food Network. I think I was doing some shows with Bobby. I called them up and said, ‘I’m going to go help in Poland,’ because I know the kitchen was being set up.’
I got a ticket, I rented a car, I found an Airbnb, and I got there and just dove right in. I was going to be there for two weeks. Then after two weeks, I was like, ‘I can’t leave.’ I ended up just kicking it down the road and ended up staying for two months. It was one of those things that was physically exhausting.
Two months straight, you know, 12-hour days cooking for 10-15,000 people a day. It was very rewarding being able to do that and feeding all these refugees. It was mostly women with their kids coming over the border because the men weren’t allowed to leave.
Were there any standout moments?
There’s a million standout moments. Cooking, trying to get food that they were used to eating, trying to find recipes. I remember I made 900 kilos of cold pasta salad and it all came back. They go, ‘they don’t eat pasta salad.’ I was like, ‘Okay, I better test these recipes out on some of our volunteers who were Ukrainian that were working in distribution.’ I’d make new things and bring it to them and go, ‘Is this good? You guys like this, right?’
I want to talk about Marc179. You’re working there three days a month. Why did you choose this?
A lot of my friends are making fun of me. I got a call from Jonathan Waxman. He goes, ‘Oh, you’re going to work three days a month, huh?’ Laughing. It’s a space. It’s also called MM Kitchen Studio when it’s a private event space. I do a lot of private events, but it’s mostly corporate clients and things like that. I wanted to try to do something so the public could come and see me and I could cook for them.
Are you there when it’s open?
Yeah, every time when we do the pop ups. I’m going to be there making sure we’re doing what we want. It’s a prix fixe menu. It’s a lot of fun. We take reservations from 5:30 to 10:30 at night. It’s going to be on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
We accept walk-ins too. We’ve got a bar, people come and sit at the bar and eat like the old days. It’s the same space that Landmarc was in. We have that building downtown and it’s just great to activate it for three days a month. I get to play around with menu items. I’m trying to keep the price very reasonable so anybody can come.
Does the menu constantly change?
Yeah, we change it every month. It’s seasonal.
The next opening dates for Marc179 are October 10-12 and November 14-16, 2024.
I’ve been to the South Beach Wine and Food Festival for exactly one day for one meal. It was before I jumped on one of these cruises a few weeks ago, and it was your meal at Giselle.
Yes, I remember that. It was so random. I’ve done a lot of different dinners like that. I’ve been doing South Beach for many years. I have to say the kitchen was great. It was so organized. The staff was fantastic, the front of the house, the back of the house. It was just great.
I love Marc Forgione. We’ve known each other for years. It was great to collaborate with him. It was fun.
It was a wonderful meal. I had gelato with caviar on it and I’m like, ‘What is this?’ It was one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.
So you were on Tournament of Champions (TOC) again this latest season. Tell me about that.
Yes. I was in the first two seasons and then I think season three and four Guy makes fun of me because he’s like, ‘Why aren’t you free?’ I think I was in France and the other time I was in Italy and I was like, ‘I can’t make it.’ Anyway, I ended up being free for season five. So, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll come.’ It was fun. It’s always fun to compete. I didn’t go forward, but it was a lot of fun.
What were some of the highlights? I talked to Casey Thompson a few weeks ago. I asked her a lot of questions about it. I’m like, ‘Is it real?’
Oh, it’s real. It’s pretty intense. It’s a game show and we have fun doing it. I have to enjoy it. I’m not going to do it if I’m not having fun.
What’s the most interesting place being a chef has taken you in the world?
I’m just lucky I’ve done so many different things. I worked with the Culinary Diplomacy Project out of the State Department, and outside of that, I’ve been to Turkey, which was an amazing trip with the government. I’ve been to China. I went to Sicily twice. I just love traveling. I go places all the time, and it’s mostly for food, that’s for sure. That’s why we exist.
Is TOC harder than Chopped?
I’d say they’re very different in a lot of ways. I mean, they’re the same but different. The biggest thing with TOC is there’s always that random tool they want you to use that you may or may not be familiar with. It doesn’t work at all with the recipe that you’re making. If you get the waffle iron, how many things can you do with a waffle iron? It really throws a wrench into things.
Chopped is more to make a really good dish and we’re not tying one hand behind your back, so it’s a bit of a different story. In Chopped, you have to get through the first round and the second round. When you get to the third, if you win, if you get to dessert. We consider the two dishes before that as well, as part of the judging. Whereas on TOC, that’s it. There’s no other thing, you don’t get time to warm up.
What’s the hardest part about being a judge on these shows?
You know, I don’t find it hard. I do find it hard when people take it too harshly. People have to realize nobody expects you to cook in real life like this. They give you four wackadoo ingredients and make you make a dish in a half hour. Some people feel like they’re being judged for their actual skills, and once again, it’s a game show. If you actually go to a restaurant and people have to cook your food with four ingredients in a half hour, your restaurant’s not going to be open very long.
It’s not real life. It’s real life in the game show category. It’s supposed to be fun. We’re entertainers. We’re not just chefs now, you know. Take it easy, chill out. It’s just a game show. If you said yes to come on the show, and there’s four people on the show, only one person wins. So, 25% of the people win, the other 75% go home. So, the chances are pretty, pretty bad.
What are your must pack travel items?
Well, if you go to the beach, remember a bathing suit. That’s one thing I forget sometimes. I walk a lot when I travel. I like to not bring new shoes, I bring shoes that are comfortable, even if they don’t look as good. You have to bring good shoes. I mean, if you have sh*tty shoes, you’re just going to be miserable.
You’ve traveled all over the world. Do you have any advice for travelers?
There’s a couple of things I always say about traveling: don’t go to the places that everybody goes to. Try to go to off the beaten path places. Go to the places people don’t talk about because everywhere in the world there’s things to see. Some people tell me, ‘Oh, we’re going to Italy, we’re going to Florence, we’re going to Venice, we’re going to Rome, we’re going to Milan, and we’re going to hit Naples.’ I’m like, ‘How many days are you going for?’ They say ‘Seven.’ Like, okay, you’re not going to see anything.
You’re just going to be traveling. You have to go places and live in it for at least 2 to 3 days so you can absorb what you’re seeing. I mean, if you’re going to go to Rome for a day, you’re not going to see anything. You need five days there. So, I would say, go travel. If you have eight days, go to two cities, don’t go to seven. I mean, you’re not going to see anything. You’re just going to be on the train or in the car and you’re not going to be able to do anything. It’s not the Amazing Race, go and enjoy it. Give yourself some time. Go places.
By the way, relax. You know, when you go on a vacation, you’re supposed to just have fun. Just do things, but don’t kill yourself.
Do you have any favorite spots you’ve visited?
I mean, if you’ve ever been to Morocco, Morocco is just a beautiful country. I love Istanbul. The Blue Mosque has been a cathedral, It was a synagogue, It’s been a mosque. I mean, it’s been everything. That’s the great thing about Turkey and Istanbul is it’s the crossroads of the world.
You have so many different things to see there. The food’s great. People are great. It’s fun. The transportation systems are easy to use. When you travel, use the public transportation system, like figure it out. That’s the one thing. It’s not that hard. I live in New York City and people are like, ‘I’m going to take a cab downtown.’ I’m like, ‘Well, you’re going to spend an hour and a half in traffic.’
What’s your craziest travel story? Hopefully it’s not on the subway in New York.
I did have one, you know, one time I did a gig in Sicily in San Vito Lo Capo. I was cooking to represent America in a couscous competition. They have an international couscous competition there and I went to represent America twice. It was really beautiful because one time I was on stage and I was standing next to a chef from Israel and a chef from Palestine. This is what should tie us together, not political, religious, all the bullsh*t that goes on. I mean, food should transcend everything. As I always say, I think the world would be a much better place if chefs ran it.
What is your best food memory?
I always sort of go back to when I was, I think ten years old. My parents, we lived in France. I grew up in Europe. We went to a Sunday lunch at this place called La Chèvre d’Or in the south of France. I can still remember the raspberry souffle. I was just so blown away by the whole thing. I was just a little kid and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that is the best thing I’ve ever had in my life.’ I’m not even a sweet dessert guy.
The whole experience of eating as a kid for me was always fun. A funny story is that when I would go to restaurants, I didn’t know if it was a fancy restaurant or not. I always looked at how many glasses and how many knives and forks were on the table. If there was only one glass on the table, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be casual.’ If there’s four glasses in front of me and knives and forks spread out, I’m like, ‘Oh, we’re in for a sit. We’re going to be here for a while.’
What’s your perfect bite?
When I eat, I’m always looking for that perfect bite. If there’s olives on the plate or there’s some crusty bread and there’s some acidic tomato sauce or something, you want that balance of sweet and salty. What really pisses me off is when I go to eat and the ratios are off. For an easy example, mashed potatoes, steak, and sauce.
If I’m eating and I don’t get a little bit of mashed potato, a little bit of steak and a little bit of sauce with each bite, and I’ve got leftover steak and I’m out of potatoes, the ratio didn’t work out how it was supposed to. All of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh my God, that goes so well with it, but it’s gone.’
Do you have a favorite Chopped memory?
There’s so many. To me it’s about hearing people’s stories. I think there was a time once where there was this woman who was competing, and she was trying to get money to go back and see her grandmother. I don’t think she won. The guy who did win gave her money to pay to go see her grandmother before she died. There’s all sorts of heart wrenching stories that happen sometimes on Chopped.
It’s very beautiful. You see the human kindness there and the support you get. I think there was one time when we had these two sous chefs, they were competing and they told stories about how cooking saved their lives. One guy had been in a gang on the West Coast and ended up having to leave and become a cook on the East Coast. The same thing with the other guy who had to go to the other coast to get away from the gangs, started cooking and fell in love with cooking.
They worked their way up, and then they were chefs or sous chefs, and they came on and competed. One guy had been shot, one guy had been stabbed. They had to get out of that situation. So basically, you see stories like that where cooking saved their lives. It probably saved my life too. I was always in trouble.
I read you kept saying that in interviews, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know, Marc. I don’t believe it.’
I was mischievous. I mean, I’m extremely dyslexic and I did terribly in school.
When did you get diagnosed?
Oh, it was probably almost when I was out of high school. I finally realized it, but they really didn’t know what to do with it then either.
So now are you doing things to bring awareness?
I try to talk about dyslexia. I’ve spoken. We just did a big thing with Made By Dyslexia, an organization out of London. They’re trying to educate teachers around the world about how to detect dyslexia. Richard Branson is on the board of it. I spoke at an event in New York recently. It turns out that all of the people that were speaking there were dyslexic. The mayor of New York was there. He’s dyslexic. Barbara Corcoran was there. There’s a lot of very, very smart people that are dyslexic.
The interesting thing to me was that a fair amount of people that are incarcerated are dyslexic because they were not diagnosed and they just did not know how to cope with the world and ended up doing sh*t that gets them in trouble. Maybe I would have been in trouble because I was not conforming, I was being kicked out of class all the time, kicked out of schools, doing stupid sh*t. I wasn’t succeeding in class. You have to stand out somehow and do something.
When I started cooking, I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, this is the first thing I’ve ever been good at.’ It was kind of wild. I went to a three-month cooking school and I got into a kitchen and I was excited. I was like, ‘What? They’re paying you to do this? This is so much fun.’ The chef yells at me every once in a while, but I figure it out and then I do it right and he doesn’t yell at me. Or they told me I did a good job today. I’ve never had that happen before. So, it was kind of wild.
Do you have any Easter traditions with your family?
I mean, I’m not very religious. But growing up in Europe, it’s always a leg of lamb on Easter. I love a leg of lamb. My grandmother used to do it. She used to stick the knife in the leg of lamb and stick a garlic clove in each of the cuts, and rosemary. Then my grandfather would go out with the rotisserie and with charcoal and baste it for hours and hours. I would play pétanque. Sometimes you’d be lucky to get one of the garlic cloves.
I love Guy’s Ranch Kitchen. Do you guys have fun? It looks like a fun show to shoot.
We have a blast. It’s my favorite show to shoot. Absolutely. I like all of them because we’re a bunch of friends in the middle of nowhere and you can’t go anywhere. Everybody just comes in. We cook, we shoot two shows a day, we hang out, we have lunch together, and then afterwards everybody sits around and we eat the leftovers and open a couple bottles of wine and sit on the patio, smoke a cigar and just chill. It’s just a bunch of friends hanging out. It’s like, ‘Oh, we’re going to work? Great. This is called work?’ It’s awesome.