Hospitality Design - October 2016 - 112

special feature
MARC MURPHY

chefs

Grey Salt, designed by TBD Architecture + Design Studio

Benchmarc Restaurants and
Benchmarc Events
Restaurants

Landmarc (two locations), Ditch Plains, and
Kingside, New York; and Grey Salt, Tampa

On becoming a chef

Photos by CEDRIC ANGELES

My father was an American diplomat. I was
born in Milan, and we moved every two or
three years. I grew up eating really well, and
when I finally got out of high school, I realized
I needed to get a job and thought, 'If I learn
how to cook, I'll be able to eat.' I didn't want
to go hungry, so I went to a three-month
cooking school.

On opening the first Landmarc in
Tribeca in 2004

It was the right opportunity, it was the right
time-my wife and I were about to have our
daughter, and I wanted to be my own boss, set
my own hours, and be able to spend more time
with the family. We lived two blocks away from
the restaurant, so it was convenient. I worked
at all these fancy places, but I wanted to make
a restaurant where I would see my friends
three times a week and not three times a year
on special occasions. We decided to do a bistro
because French cooking was my background.
But I also wanted to bring in some of my Italian
background, so we made a French bistro with
Italian influences.

On his latest restaurant, Tampa's Grey
Salt, his first outside of New York

On early jobs with chefs including
Terrance Brennan, Alain Ducasse,
Georges Masraff, and Sylvain Portay
When I started cooking, I got addicted to it. I
love the camaraderie, I love the pressure, the
excitement, I love the people in the kitchen. I
was a sponge, absorbing everything I could. I
would try to work everywhere for a year or two
and then move on to something else, learning
from another chef. You're getting paid to learn.

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October 2016 hospitalitydesign.com

[The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino] was
looking for an outside, somewhat bigger-name
chef, and a friend of mine who works with them
approached us. I said, 'We're so close to the Gulf,
how about doing something with some of my
Mediterranean influences because you have all
that great fish?' We're using local ingredients and
coming up with fun food. You think of lemons,
olive oil, you think clean, grilled fish, grilled
meats. I wanted the design to be that as well-to
feel like an oasis in the middle of the casino,
because obviously the casino is hustle
and bustle.

On what guests want in restaurants
today

You can make the best food in the world, and
if the restaurant is lit badly and the music is
terrible and it's uncomfortable, people aren't
going to come in. Design is a big element; you're
already going to know what kind of restaurant
it is. When I was a kid, I could tell the kind of
restaurant by how many glasses were on the
table. If there was one glass, I knew it was more
casual, and when you saw three glasses lined
up, I was like, 'Oh, this will be fancy.' I want
[my restaurants to] feel like an old pair of
jeans. They're comfortable and you can slip into
them very easily.

On being a judge on the TV series
Chopped and Chopped Juniors

It gives national recognition to my brand, which
obviously helps my restaurants. But I love
seeing the contestants; that's who shines on the
show. We get to see great talent, and we learn;
the producers find some crazy ingredients-
sometimes things we've never seen before. I
love this industry. I love the people that work
in kitchens and that's basically who we get
standing in front of us on the show. It's fun to see
what people come up with and it's fun to judge
with the other judges. We've been doing it for
eight years, so shooting is like hanging out with
your fraternity or brother or sister.
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