Celebrity chef Sam DeMarco is best known for his creative, global fare at First, Merge and District restaurants in New York and Sam’s at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Now DeMarco is bringing his acclaimed skills as executive chef to Fireside, 19 East 52nd street, NYC, using his innovative culinary concepts and talents to create Cocktail Cuisine.
Born and raised in Brooklyn and Long Island in an all-Italian family, food and cooking were an integral part of the DeMarco family’s daily ritual. “I have such great memories of shopping in Brooklyn with my grandmother, visiting the butcher, the baker and the produce stand, and then cooking all day long. I loved the passion of it, how much work it took, even at the age of five,” remembers DeMarco. “I think we were the only family I knew who argued about which grandmother’s house we would go to for dinner every week.”
This early love affair with cooking was further kindled by his part-time restaurant job at age 14 where he started as a dishwasher, but soon found himself arriving early and staying late so that he could do some prep work for the chef when his chores were done.
By the time he graduated from New York Technical College, he had been working as a line cook during his spare time. David Burke snapped him up and he joined the talented ranks of young chefs under Burke’s tutelage, working in every position at The River Café. He also honed his skills in midtown Manhattan hotel restaurants, working with Michel Fitoussi at Regine’s and Jean Michel Diot at Maxime’s. But it was the internationally famous Gray Kunz who was his true mentor, and DeMarco worked with him at the Adrienne for three years, progressing to sous chef.
DeMarco’s world changed in the summer of 1993, when Phil Suarez offered him the combined job of chef and general manager at his casual, beloved Fire Island eatery, The Dock. He then teamed up with Stephen Billings and created the concept of First late in 1993. In 1998, entrepreneur Steve Wynn approached DeMarco with a management contract to develop Sam’s at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. He spent two years dividing his time between New York and Las Vegas, but decided to return home to New York. He then quickly teamed up with old friend and fellow restaurateur Gino Diaferia to create two new New York restaurants – Merge, which showcases the signature cuisine and chic casual ambience of First in a West Village location; and District, part of The Muse Hotel, located in the middle of the Theater District.
In addition to those illustrious credentials, Sam DeMarco has always been a nomad of knowledge, scouring the fresh food markets; always looking to gather new flavors to add to his melting pot of culturally delectable infusions. The worldly DeMarco was even invited to cook for the Royal Family in Thailand along with Douglas Rodriguez, Michael Reed and other noteworthy cooks. He was also invited to Atlanta for the Final James Beard Foundation dinner at the James Beard Theatre with Kevin Hickey of the Four Seasons and Jasper White.
In his column in The Hollywood Reporter, Wolfgang Puck enthused that DeMarco is “a passionate chef who creates food that doesn’t just look good, but tastes even better” while New York Magazine’s Gael Greene called DeMarco’s food an “A list of cross-cultural victuals that change with the seasons.”
