Who

Marc Forgione
Chef/Partner

Marc Forgione has been in a professional kitchen since he was old enough to walk. The son of culinary legend, Larry Forgione, who revolutionized American-style cooking in the 70's and 80's, Forgione embraced his father's livelihood completely and is currently on track to establish himself as a star in his own right.

Forgione began his career at the tender age of 16, joining his father in the kitchen at An American Place. When it came time for college, he opted for a traditional four-year education at University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he graduated from the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Forgione spent his summers working the line at restaurants like Above in New York and Chinois on Main in Los Angeles with acclaimed Chef Kazuto Matsusaka. These stints would lay the ground-work for his post-collegiate toils, again alongside his father at An American Place and later under Patricia Yeo at AZ. When Yeo and celebrated chef Pino Maffeo opened Pazo, they took Forgione along to serve as Sous Chef at the short-lived eatery. When Laurent Tourondel set out to develop his flagship, BLT Steak, he recruited Forgione as his sous chef.

In an effort to diversify his experience, Forgione left for France where he secured a series of humble posts under Michel Guerard in Eugenie les Bains. Working at three of the region’s finest restaurants, Le Pres D’Eugenie, Ferme aux Grives and Le Cuisine Minceur, Forgione absorbed the nuances of classic French techniques and further developed what had already become a meaningful relationship with ingredients.

When he returned to New York, he promptly reunited with Tourondel, who invited the now seasoned chef to serve as chef de cuisine at BLT Prime. The restaurant would go on to earn sterling accolades from relevant publications nationwide, culminating in a 27 in the Zagat Guide, making it the highest ranking steakhouse in the history of New York City. Following his role as chef de cuisine, Forgione was named Corporate Chef for the BLT Restaurant Group, a position that enabled him to develop recipes and maintain the quality of the BLT brand as it went on to include more and more restaurants across the country. Forgione has played a key role in the openings of BLT Fish and BLT Market, as well as the Washington D.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico and Dallas locations of BLT Steak. With Marc Forgione, Forgione’s first restaurant, he plans to create an approachable place that people will walk by and be compelled to enter and where the “ingredients are the star.”

“There are three basic elements of cooking,” he says. “Salt, pepper and patience. I like to bend the rules, but I don't like to break them.”

Christopher Blumlo
Managing Partner

As managing partner of Marc Forgione, Christopher Blumlo comes armed with ten years of successful food service experience and an undeniable passion for creating distinctive dining experiences.

Blumlo graduated from University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a BS in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration. After school, he moved to New York where he joined the team at Restaurant Associates, where he had the opportunity oversee the corporate dining programs at both BMG and Condé Nast, before moving over to the restaurant division. He was the dining room manager at both Naples 45 and the Rock Center Summer Garden.

Blumlo briefly entertained his entrepreneurial musings when he co-founded two wireless companies in New York, before reentering food service in 2002 with the formidable industry giant ARAMARK, as the Assistant General Manager at the Mets’ Shea Stadium. His time there was characterized by an emphasis on operations, customer service, business development, design and project management. When he was promoted to the Director of Operations, he was awarded two Operational Awards of Excellence in 2004 and again in 2006. In this role, he oversaw 25 managers, 1500 employees and annual revenues exceeding $40 million a year. In 2005, Blumlo was given the additional responsibility of overseeing the hospitality development at the Mets’ new state of the art stadium, Citifield. As the lead ARAMARK consultant on the project, Blumlo spent twelve months collaborating on the design and development of every food, beverage and merchandise outlet at the stadium, including restaurants, luxury suites, catering and specialty food concepts. Scheduled to open in spring of 2009, the stadium promises to set a new standard in the way food is enjoyed at sporting events. Blumlo is proud to have been so integrally involved in facilitating this new culinary precedent.

Marc Forgione represents a welcomed return to more intimate and hands-on involvement in food service for Blumlo. His experiences up until now have prepared him for the challenge of running his own restaurant, but he looks forward to distinguishing himself as a passionate and inventive restaurateur in his own right. For both Blumlo and his partner Marc Forgione, Marc Forgione is the culmination of vast professional experience and the opportunity to define themselves as important players in the New York restaurant scene. He is excited to present Marc Forgione as “the kind of place that we would want to go with our own friends and family for an extraordinary meal in a relaxed, neighborhood setting.”

Matthew Conway
GM / Sommelier

Matthew Conway is a firm believer in the mellifluous relationship between food and wine. As a discerning sommelier and hospitality professional, Conway continuously searches to find a balance between his beverage menu and the cuisine of the restaurant.

Conway began working as a teenager at his family's restaurant in Sacramento, CA. While working in professional kitchens in Boston he quickly realized that work in front of the house would be a more gratifying way to utilize his management skills. This was all the more evident when Conway returned to California to open a restaurant with his mother, cultivating his wine knowledge and hospitality experience. For two successful years Conway hired chefs, trained staff and built the restaurant's wine list. After turning the restaurant over to a friend, Conway moved to New York City in 2004 and took a position at Aquagrill.

While at Aquagrill, Conway began viticulture education courses under Andrew Bell at the American Sommelier Association. After his completion he diligently worked his way through the ASA's 15-week blind tasting class and was among the first three students to pass the course final. Soon after, Conway was hired as opening captain at Pace where his repertoire of Italian wines expanded significantly.

In 2005, Conway worked with renowned wine director Alexander Adlgasser at Gray Kunz's Café Gray. When Adlgasser returned to Austria, Conway was promoted from sommelier to wine director and began re-focusing the predominantly Austrian wine list. As a result of Conway's work, Café Grey's wine list offers much more of a global selection of varietals. What was once a 75-bottle list quickly expanded to over 300 selections.

During his time as wine director at Café Grey, Conway gained exceptional management experience under the direction of general manager Richard Hollocou for whom he credits his successful leadership skills, cost-effective practices and knowledge of the New York City market.

As the general manager and sommelier of Marc Forgione, Conway is responsible for the restaurant's entire beverage program along with all service management and training sessions. Alongside mixologst George Duval, Conway creates seasonal cocktail recipes using Marc Forgione's exceptional spirits selections all chosen by Conway. With a wine list comprised of 80 bottles, Conway has constructed a selection of approachable wines to complement Forgione,s dishes. Like the menu at Marc Forgione, Conway's list of independent artisanal wines changes with the seasons and further articulates the restaurant's approach to fine dining food in a comfortable setting