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 Marc
A. Cohen is a talented and formally
trained artist. His breadth of work has been praised by some
of the toughest critics, and he’s had the pleasure of
creating masterpieces for a number of celebrity clients. However,
unlike the stereotypical beret wearing, easel toting artist,
Cohen is at his most creative while under the toque armed
with an apron full of spatulas, whisks and cleavers. Marc
A. Cohen is better known as Chef Cohen, partner and culinary
director of five award-winning Orange County, California,
restaurants: 230 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach; Opah Restaurant
& Bar, Aliso Viejo, Irvine and Rancho Santa Margarita;
and Agave Mexican Grill and Cantina also in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Growing up along the Eastern Seaboard in
Maryland, Cohen became interested in gastronomy as a teenager
when his next door neighbor, an executive chef, took him under
his wing. He enrolled at Johnson Wales University in Providence,
Rhode Island, where he earned an Associate of Culinary Arts
degree, as well as a double Bachelors Degree in Education
and Management. In 1992, in the midst of his studies, he was
tapped by Chaine des Rotisseurs, a 55-year-old international
gastronomic society founded in Paris, to become part of the
organization’s Culinary Olympic Team. Not only was he
one of the team’s most enthusiastic participants, he
was also the youngest. He and his fellow chefs returned home
carrying several gold medals.
Upon graduation, Cohen worked his magic
behind some of the nation’s most prestigious kitchen
doors, including the Dunes Club in Narragansett, Rhode Island
and the Sutton Place Gourmet’s Blue Point Grille and
in Washington DC, where he was lauded by Washington
Magazine as being among the “Top
One Hundred Chefs” working in the nation’s
capital. In 1994, Cohen was lured to the California coast
by his current partners who enlisted his expertise in the
opening of 230 Forest Avenue in
Laguna Beach. The restaurant, with its dramatic ambiance and
fusion cuisine, was an instant success. With each plate serving
as a blank canvas, Cohen’s culinary presentations were
lauded as edible works of art as noted by the LA Times
“…every dish bears chef and co-owner Marc Cohen’s
distinctive stamp, one informed by a particular love of Mexican
and Pacific flavors and an artist’s flair.”
Not one to sit idle for long, Cohen persuaded
his partners to open a second restaurant in 1999 in nearby
Aliso Viejo. Opah Restaurant & Bar,
named for the moonfish once viewed as a symbol of good luck
by the ancient fisherman who caught them and gave them away
as a goodwill gesture, was a departure from his first restaurant
venture 230 Forest Avenue. Its modern and streamlined design,
eclectic fare and bustling martini bar is both inviting and
innovative, prompting Cohen and his partners to expand the
concept with the opening of two additional locations in Rancho
Santa Margarita (2002) and Irvine (2004).
As if four restaurants weren’t enough
to keep this talented chef busy, Cohen decided to launch an
entirely new culinary concept. In July 2004 Agave
Mexican Grill and Cantina made its debut in
Rancho Santa Margarita, giving The OC just the jolt it needed.
Its mix of vibrant colors, toe-tapping musica, and long list
of Mexican specialties, coupled with more than 65 selections
of tequila and some 14 margarita concoctions, has made it
a bona fide dining destination.
Recently honored with the prestigious national
Silver Plate Award from the International
Foodservice Manufacturers Association in May 2005,
Chef Cohen was named one of the 25 Hottest People
in Orange County by OC Metro Magazine,
and for seven consecutive years has been named among the Best
Chefs of Orange County by the Kidney
Foundation. In addition, Chef Cohen has been a member
of the Tyson Leadership Network for the past
seven years. The thirysomething Chef Cohen considers his wife
of 11 years and his three children among his greatest achievements.
A resident of Mission Viejo, California, Cohen enjoys spending
time with his family, going to baseball games and golfing
during his spare time.
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