The rise of celeb chef and restaurateur, Mario Carbone: his restaurant is beloved by celebs like Kim Kardashian and Drake, and he shared his famous spicy rigatoni vodka recipe on Jimmy Fallon’s show

May 25 , 2024

Mario Carbone, co-founder of Major Food Group, has built a celeb-studded restaurant empire. Photo: Paul Yeung

The Italian-American chef previously trained with Daniel Boulud before joining forces with Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick to form New York-based Major Food Group

His hit restaurant Carbone hosts celeb regulars including Selena Gomez and Rihanna, and even turned Justin and Hailey Bieber away when they came without a booking

His restaurants are perennially packed with the world’s hottest celebrities – from Leonardo DiCaprio and Rihanna to Jay-Z and Drake, Shakira to Selena Gomez – so it’s safe to say that Mario Carbone and his New York-based Major Food Group (MFG) have made a significant impact on the city’s dining scene

These days Mario Carbone, founder of Carbone restaurant, has outposts all over the world. Photo: Paul Yeung

His successful restaurants include eateries Carbone, Sadelle’s, Parm and Dirty French, among others, and the restaurateur also has several restaurants internationally.

So what do we know about signore Carbone, whose restaurant famously turned the Biebers away when they showed up without a booking?

What’s Mario Carbone’s culinary background?

Mario Carbone came up working for greats including Mario Batali and Daniel Boulud. Photo: @mariocarbone/Instagram

Per Sadelle’s website, Carbone was born and raised in Queens, New York. The Italian American chef attended The Culinary Institute of America and worked as an apprentice at Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo before joining the opening team at Lupa Osteria Romana in Greenwich Village. He’s also worked at a small family-run restaurant on the western coast of Tuscany called La Dogana.

Upon returning to the US, Carbone learned classic French cuisine from renowned restaurateur Daniel Boulud, before working with his ‘mentor’ Mark Ladner at Del Posto, per the same website.

How did Mario Carbone start the Major Food Group?

Rich Torrisi, Mario Carbone, and Jeff Zalaznick, founders of the Major Food Group, pictured together in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

In 2009, he opened a deli called Torrisi Italian Specialties alongside partner Rich Torrisi, where the duo served their own take on Italian American sandwiches before it evolved to offer an innovative prix fixe dinner in the evenings. A year later, Carbone and Torrisi teamed up with former investment banker Jeff Zalaznick to form the hugely successful MFG – the company that eventually spawned Carbone’s culinary empire.