Chef Profile: Mark Tarbell | Careers & Education | National Restaurant Association

Chef Profile: Mark Tarbell

Age: 38

Job Title; Place of Employment: Chef/Owner, Tarbell’s and Barmouche restaurants, Phoenix

Education: Le Grand Diplome d’Etudes Culinaires, La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, Paris; Graduated from Academie du Vin, Paris Professional Background: Apprentice, Willi’s Wine Bar, Michel Pasquet, Paris; sous chef, Boston’s Vintage Bar and Restaurant; assistant manager and wine buyer, Deer Valley Ski Resort, Park City, Utah; food and beverage director, Boulders Resort, Carefree, Ariz.; opened Tarbell’s in 1994 and Barmouche in 1999.

When did you decide to become a chef?
During my last year in high school, I arranged to do an apprenticeship at a hotel in Amsterdam. After a couple of months, I was hooked.

What was your first restaurant job?
Washing dishes at the Hotel Wentworth in New Castle, N.H.

Did you have a mentor? If so, what did he or she teach you?
Jim Nassikas, past owner/partner/manager of Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah, and the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco. Jim taught me the art of gracious hospitality and the monumental importance of detail.

Describe your typical workday.
It starts with being a diplomat, a democrat and a doormat, and ends with being an autocrat and an acrobat.

What is your favorite dish to cook, and why?
Fish, because it’s so precious and delicate.

What qualities do you look for when you hire employees?
Good, honest character and a great laugh.

What advice would you give aspiring chefs?
Work, work, work, with the best, best, best, for a long, long, long time.

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