Overview

The most compelling, insightful, and white-knuckled journey behind the restaurant curtain since Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. Mark H. Brezinski is a forty-five-year veteran of the dynamic restaurant industry. A graduate of the famed School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, Mark went on to create or co-create multiple nationally acclaimed restaurant companies. His experiences span the globe in search of culinary discoveries and inspirations with industry icons like the late Norman Brinker, Paul Fleming, Phil Romano, and chefs Michael Mina and Mark Miller. Mark’s restaurants have featured an international buffet of foods that include Indian, Italian, French, and Vietnamese. His travels have taken him from Tokyo to Tuscany, from San Francisco to Shanghai, from Mumbai to Maui. This book takes you to all of these places and more, while telling behind-the-scenes stories—sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, and never without lessons learned. The journey is a remarkable tag-along to the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur and the self-discovery that comes with each stop. Mark resides in Dallas and, never one to leave a stone unturned, is currently founder of his latest concept, Bizzy, which features his vision of better fast food.

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9781637587508

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“Synopsis: Mark H. Brezinski is a forty-five-year veteran of the dynamic restaurant industry. A graduate of the famed School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, Mark went on to create or co-create multiple nationally acclaimed restaurant companies. His experiences span the globe in search of culinary discoveries and inspirations with industry icons like the late Norman Brinker, Paul Fleming, Phil Romano, and chefs Michael Mina and Mark Miller. Mark's restaurants have featured an international buffet of foods that include Indian, Italian, French, and Vietnamese. His travels have taken him from Tokyo to Tuscany, from San Francisco to Shanghai, from Mumbai to Maui. This book takes you to all of these places and more, while telling behind-the-scenes stories - sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, and never without lessons learned. The journey is a remarkable tag-along to the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur and the self-discovery that comes with each stop. Mark resides in Dallas and, never one to leave a stone unturned, is currently founder of his latest concept, Bizzy, which features his vision of better fast food.  Critique: A fascinating culinary memoir of professional restauranteur Mark H. Brezinski, ForkFight!: Whisks, Risks, and Conflicts Behind the Restaurant Curtain will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in the restaurant industry. Written with the assistance of co-author Mark Stuertz and highly recommended for community library American Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted that ForkFight! is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99). Editorial Note: Mark H. Brezinski (https://mbrezinski.com) is a forty-five-year restaurant industry veteran who has created or co-created multiple nationally recognized and rewarded restaurant concepts. His experience spans the globe and his connections with industry icons is deep. He is recognized in the restaurant industry as co-founder and/or creator of restaurant concepts that have won ‘Hot Concept’ and ‘Concepts of Tomorrow’ awards and was recently named one of ‘Nation's Restaurant News Most Influential Restaurant CEO's.’” -- Midwest Book Review “The key to Mark’s success was his ability to inspire and infect each new restaurant team with a culture that separated those restaurants from both chain and independent restaurants across the country.” -- Rick Federico, retired Chairman, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro “You would think Mark is thirty-five years old with his energy, enthusiasm, wide eyes, hands flailing, and chatter about all the irons he has in the fire. Mark has never slowed down and he transcends generations of restaurateurs and brands which have come and gone.” -- Chef Nevielle Panthaky, VP, Culinary, Chipotle “I can’t say exactly for sure but I’d say that Mark’s fingerprints are on about 75 percent of the tacos on the Velvet Taco menu. He will undoubtedly be forgotten as the brand continues to grow but there are a select few of us who will forever know just how integral he was to the success of the brand and of all its industry recognition.” -- Chef John Franke, former Corporate Chef, Front Burner Restaurants and Current CEO, Franke Culinary Consulting “The future of the restaurant business depends on the Mark Brezinskis of the world to tell us where we need to go.” -- Bob Sambol, Founder/Owner, Bob’s Steak & Chop House “Many creative guys are working on renovation, they take something that exists, polish it, and make it look new. Not Mark. He has the capability to create a new blue ocean.” -- Christophe Poirier, Chief Brand Officer, New Business Development, Pizza Hut Global “Most of us see the world for what it is and do our best to fit in, but there are those select few who start with an idea and never mind that it doesn't already exist. In the world of food and hospitality, Mark is one of those rare visionaries.” -- Micky Pant, Former CEO, YUM! Restaurants International “As unknown as Anthony Bourdain before publishing Kitchen Confidential, Mark Brezinski’s ForkFight! takes you behind the scenes of visioning, creating, financing, and opening the restaurants you eat in today. It’s a world most didn’t know existed.  It’s a messy world. And in many cases it’s one that not many can go through financially and psychologically intact. I have lived this industry for decades and learned something new about it in every chapter of the book. Informative, entertaining, and filled with life lessons, ForkFight! should yield this humble individual the credit he so rightfully deserves for his contributions to the industry.” -- Lane Cardwell, Former CEO, Boston Market, Former President, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Former CEO, Eatzi’s Market & Bakery

Author Information

Mark H. Brezinski is a forty-five-year restaurant industry veteran who has created or co-created multiple nationally recognized and rewarded restaurant concepts. His experience spans the globe and his connections with industry icons is deep. He is recognized in the restaurant industry as co-founder and/or creator of restaurant concepts that have won “Hot Concept” and “Concepts of Tomorrow” awards and was recently named one of “Nation’s Restaurant News Most Influential Restaurant CEO’s.”

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