Geoffrey Zakarian has confidently presided over some of the country's top kitchens for two decades uniquely preparing him to open Country in the historic Carlton Hotel. Zakarian's first turn as Executive Chef/Owner was with the magnificently understated Town restaurant, which he opened in 2001.

With Country, Zakarian presents a more relaxed and yet gutsy follow up to Town which received a three-star review by the New York Times restaurant critic William Grimes. The dining room of Country allows Zakarian to channel his considerable creative powers toward crafting distinctive dinner party-style meals, by way of a set menu, served to the whole table rather than presented as individual plates.

Educated at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Zakarian's first job was at the New York Times 4-star rated Le Cirque, under Executive Chef Alain Sailhac, who became a professional mentor. After four years, in 1987 Zakarian took his first turn as Executive Chef at the legendary '21' Club. In 1989, renowned restaurateur Brian McNally hired him to be the Executive Chef of "44" at the Royalton. There Zakarian showed an easy affinity for presiding over a dining room where the food was just as important as "the scene" and the restaurant enjoyed critical acclaim while also becoming a magnet for the city's bold face names.

In 1995 Zakarian was once again tapped by McNally to head up the Blue Door at the Delano Hotel in Miami, helping to successfully establish another dining hot spot in the city's evolving restaurant scene. In 1999, Zakarian became Executive Chef of Patroon where his sophisticated interpretations of steakhouse classics earned him three stars from the New York Times.

In the spring of 2006 Zakarian's first cookbook, Geoffrey Zakarian's Town and Country, will be published by Clarkson Potter. The book will be a study of 65 ingredients Zakarian always uses, providing recipes for each in a dressed-up "town" version, as well as a rusticated "country" approach.