GEOFFREY ZAKARIAN Follow YOUR PASSIONS

The chef and TV star shares thoughts on career, family, and a tip for home cooks

- Katie Bruno

Chef and TV personality Geoffrey Zakarian had just finished earning a degree in economics when a journey abroad changed his life forever. “A career as a chef found me on a trip to France," Geoffrey tells Closer. “I fell in love with their culture of fine dining, and after that my new trajectory as a chef and restaurateur was undeniable."

Before he became known to television viewers, Geoffrey, 62, honed his skills in New York's fine dining scene. He is currently the chef/owner of the Lambs Club and the National in Manhattan. On television, he's been a frequent judge on Chopped, battled it out in Iron Chef's Kitchen Stadium, and is a co-host of The Kitchen. Geoffrey's latest competition series, Big Restaurant Bet, premieres on Food Network on April 5 at 10 p.m.

If you hadn't become a chef, what do you think you would have done?

I would have tried to become a professional golfer. I'm a real golf junkie.

How did your 30 years in restaurants prepare you for becoming a television food expert?

I don't know that it did directly. But I guess it can be said that as a chef and as a TV personality, you are in the business of entertaining people. Both are about engaging your audience.

Do you ever miss working in a kitchen full time?

Well, I'm always cooking, so I don't miss being in the kitchen. But I do miss the buzz I get from having a busy service. Chefs love that!

Your heritage is Armenian and Polish. Did your family hand down any treasured recipes to you?

My mom and aunts were phenomenal cooks, but not much got written down. I have general methods to make my mother's sugar cookies and a couple of her Middle Eastern dishes, but I really had to pay attention to the way they made things so that I could remember. It was all very non-scientific -a little of this and a little of that.