Clean Plate Charlie: Where will you eat in Miami when you're here? Any secret places?
Geoffrey Zakarian: The problem with secret places is that they don't stay secret. I'm going to try the Royal at the Raleigh and I'll eat at Michael's Genuine. I'll probably go over and have some stone crabs at Joe's and visit Michelle Bernstein's Sra .Martinez. I want to try out Sugarcane.
Will we see you open a restaurant in Miami again?
I'm actually open to doing Miami. It's a question of finding the right place and partner. There's a bigger market than when I was there in '94. I have family in Tampa, so I would certainly entertain doing something in Miami.
I've read your cookbook Town/Country. The recipes are very easy to follow. Did you specifically write the recipes for the book?
When you read a cookbook you want to cook, you're not scanning a cookbook to pass time. With that being said, easy is a relative term. Everything can't be easy, then you would just go to a restaurant. As you get more confident in your skills, you graduate to the intricate recipes.
You've been a judge on on Chopped. Do you like television?
TV is great. It's a wonderful way to meet a customer. Sometimes 2 million people watch the show - how else can I reach 2 million people? I have people that stop me on the street and they're obsessed with food and the food network.
So do you want your own talk show?
I do want my own talk show. If the Gods deem it, it will happen. Look at how that played out for Rachel Ray.
That means you'll jump around on couches and do crazy things on TV?
I don't do that, no. I'm funny, but I'm not a lunatic.
Stay tuned for a recipe from Geoffrey Zakarian, comng soon.
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