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

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.

The New Yorker reported Carbone’s New York outpost as the jewel of MFG, where the city’s celebrities and socialites can’t stop returning to. Carbone can also be found in Miami, Vegas and Dallas, and at the time of writing, also boasts outposts in London, Hong Kong, Riyadh and Doha, according to Bloomberg.

Carbone in New York has become a celebrity staple and is known for its dark interiors. Photo: @mariocarbone/Instagram

Commenting on whether he envisioned the success of MFG today in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2022, Carbone said “I don’t think we had any idea how it was going to happen,” before adding, “But if you would’ve told me and Rich in our late 20s, you guys were going to be f****** big, you’re going to be huge, we would’ve been like, ‘Yeah, you bet your ass.’”

What are Mario Carbone’s signature dishes?

A plate of Mario’s Meatballs at Carbone Hong Kong.

New York’s Carbone received a Michelin star in 2013 before losing it in 2022, according to Robb Report, but continues to deliver classic Italian American comfort food dishes that are clearly still a hit with punters, including its famous ragu, ravioli, calamari, puttanesca, shrimp scampi, lobster fra diavolo and veal Parmesan.

Its most famous dish? Probably the spicy rigatoni alla vodka, loved by celebs and civilians alike.

It’s so popular that Carbone even turned up to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to share his recipe last November, much to fans’ delight.

Why is the restaurant Carbone so popular with celebs?

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were regulars at Carbone when they were together. Photo: Getty Images

Vanity Fair likened Carbone “to this century’s Deux Magots” – referring to Parisian high society’s restaurant of choice in the 19th century – “with Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson filling in for Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre”. It adds that “it’s as if the rich and powerful simply are not aware that other places exist to get dinner”.

Harper’s Bazaar also noted that thanks to the staff’s discretion and the restaurants’ ultra-dark interiors, privacy is a key reason for Carbone’s popularity, saying, “If a spot is good enough for JLo, fellow A-listers are sure to follow.”

Who is Mario Carbone dating?

Mario Carbone and his girlfriend Cait Bailey have been together for six years. Photo: @mariocarbone/Instagram

The 44-year-old chef is dating Cait Bailey, a publicist and brand strategist who runs the New York office of Align Public Relations, according to The New York Times. Bailey’s client roster includes beauty influencer Alix Earle, Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper and singer Zayn Malik. The couple reportedly live between New York and Miami Beach, and have been together for six years.

According to The New York Times, Carbone is attracted to his 34-year-old girlfriend’s “social ability” and “the way she controlled a room”. He’s also influenced her to pick up backgammon and said that having a partner who is ambitious “and is just as passionate about what they do is a beautiful thing.”

Fame and celebrity

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