Who

Marc Forgione
Chef/Partner

Marc Forgione has been in a professional kitchen since he was old enough to walk. The son of culinary legend, Larry Forgione, who revolutionized American-style cooking in the 70's and 80's, Forgione embraced his father's livelihood completely and is currently on track to establish himself as a star in his own right.

Forgione began his career at the tender age of 16, joining his father in the kitchen at An American Place. When it came time for college, he opted for a traditional four-year education at University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he graduated from the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Forgione spent his summers working the line at restaurants like Above in New York and Chinois on Main in Los Angeles with acclaimed Chef Kazuto Matsusaka. These stints would lay the ground-work for his post-collegiate toils, again alongside his father at An American Place and later under Patricia Yeo at AZ. When Yeo and celebrated chef Pino Maffeo opened Pazo, they took Forgione along to serve as Sous Chef at the short-lived eatery. When Laurent Tourondel set out to develop his flagship, BLT Steak, he recruited Forgione as his sous chef.

In an effort to diversify his experience, Forgione left for France where he secured a series of humble posts under Michel Guerard in Eugenie les Bains. Working at three of the region’s finest restaurants, Le Pres D’Eugenie, Ferme aux Grives and Le Cuisine Minceur, Forgione absorbed the nuances of classic French techniques and further developed what had already become a meaningful relationship with ingredients.

When he returned to New York, he promptly reunited with Tourondel, who invited the now seasoned chef to serve as chef de cuisine at BLT Prime. The restaurant would go on to earn sterling accolades from relevant publications nationwide, culminating in a 27 in the Zagat Guide, making it the highest ranking steakhouse in the history of New York City. Following his role as chef de cuisine, Forgione was named Corporate Chef for the BLT Restaurant Group, a position that enabled him to develop recipes and maintain the quality of the BLT brand as it went on to include more and more restaurants across the country. Forgione has played a key role in the openings of BLT Fish and BLT Market, as well as the Washington D.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico and Dallas locations of BLT Steak. With FORGE, Forgione’s first restaurant, he plans to create an approachable place that people will walk by and be compelled to enter and where the “ingredients are the star.”

“There are three basic elements of cooking,” he says. “Salt, pepper and patience. I like to bend the rules, but I don't like to break them.”

Christopher Blumlo
Managing Partner

As managing partner of FORGE, Christopher Blumlo comes armed with ten years of successful food service experience and an undeniable passion for creating distinctive dining experiences.

Blumlo graduated from University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a BS in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration. After school, he moved to New York where he joined the team at Restaurant Associates, where he had the opportunity oversee the corporate dining programs at both BMG and Condé Nast, before moving over to the restaurant division. He was the dining room manager at both Naples 45 and the Rock Center Summer Garden.

Blumlo briefly entertained his entrepreneurial musings when he co-founded two wireless companies in New York, before reentering food service in 2002 with the formidable industry giant ARAMARK, as the Assistant General Manager at the Mets’ Shea Stadium. His time there was characterized by an emphasis on operations, customer service, business development, design and project management. When he was promoted to the Director of Operations, he was awarded two Operational Awards of Excellence in 2004 and again in 2006. In this role, he oversaw 25 managers, 1500 employees and annual revenues exceeding $40 million a year. In 2005, Blumlo was given the additional responsibility of overseeing the hospitality development at the Mets’ new state of the art stadium, Citifield. As the lead ARAMARK consultant on the project, Blumlo spent twelve months collaborating on the design and development of every food, beverage and merchandise outlet at the stadium, including restaurants, luxury suites, catering and specialty food concepts. Scheduled to open in spring of 2009, the stadium promises to set a new standard in the way food is enjoyed at sporting events. Blumlo is proud to have been so integrally involved in facilitating this new culinary precedent.

FORGE represents a welcomed return to more intimate and hands-on involvement in food service for Blumlo. His experiences up until now have prepared him for the challenge of running his own restaurant, but he looks forward to distinguishing himself as a passionate and inventive restaurateur in his own right. For both Blumlo and his partner Marc Forgione, FORGE is the culmination of vast professional experience and the opportunity to define themselves as important players in the New York restaurant scene. He is excited to present FORGE as “the kind of place that we would want to go with our own friends and family for an extraordinary meal in a relaxed, neighborhood setting.”

Matthew Conway
GM / Sommelier

Matthew Conway is a firm believer in the mellifluous relationship between food and wine. As a discerning sommelier and hospitality professional, Conway continuously searches to find a balance between his beverage menu and the cuisine of the restaurant.

Conway began working as a teenager at his family's restaurant in Sacramento, CA. While working in professional kitchens in Boston he quickly realized that work in front of the house would be a more gratifying way to utilize his management skills. This was all the more evident when Conway returned to California to open a restaurant with his mother, cultivating his wine knowledge and hospitality experience. For two successful years Conway hired chefs, trained staff and built the restaurant's wine list. After turning the restaurant over to a friend, Conway moved to New York City in 2004 and took a position at Aquagrill.

While at Aquagrill, Conway began viticulture education courses under Andrew Bell at the American Sommelier Association. After his completion he diligently worked his way through the ASA's 15-week blind tasting class and was among the first three students to pass the course final. Soon after, Conway was hired as opening captain at Pace where his repertoire of Italian wines expanded significantly.

In 2005, Conway worked with renowned wine director Alexander Adlgasser at Gray Kunz's Café Gray. When Adlgasser returned to Austria, Conway was promoted from sommelier to wine director and began re-focusing the predominantly Austrian wine list. As a result of Conway's work, Café Grey's wine list offers much more of a global selection of varietals. What was once a 75-bottle list quickly expanded to over 300 selections.

During his time as wine director at Café Grey, Conway gained exceptional management experience under the direction of general manager Richard Hollocou for whom he credits his successful leadership skills, cost-effective practices and knowledge of the New York City market.

As the general manager and sommelier of FORGE, Conway is responsible for the restaurant's entire beverage program along with all service management and training sessions. Alongside mixologst George Duval, Conway creates seasonal cocktail recipes using FORGE's exceptional spirits selections all chosen by Conway. With a wine list comprised of 80 bottles, Conway has constructed a selection of approachable wines to complement Forgione,s dishes. Like the menu at FORGE, Conway's list of independent artisanal wines changes with the seasons and further articulates the restaurant's approach to fine dining food in a comfortable setting

Jennifer McCoy
Pastry Chef

Jennifer McCoy was drawn to the kitchen right out of high school. A Chicago native, she quickly enrolled in Kendall College's baking and pastries program and has continued moving forward ever since.

During and after her education at Kendall, McCoy gained instant experience in the pastry kitchens of beloved Chicago restaurants including Gordon, Charlie Trotter's and Blackbird. McCoy credits her time at Blackbird for fostering her enthusiasm for exceptional desserts and community in the kitchen. “We were setting culinary trends and always investigating other restaurants around Chicago,” McCoy says, “It was exciting and exhausting and very special.”

After four years of work in pastry, McCoy began to explore other options and focus her energy on different fields. Following a year-long experience in Madrid, McCoy returned to Chicago where she began working as a buyer for a boutique specialty soap store. Less than a year later McCoy opened her own store, Stinkerbelle where she crafted homemade soaps and other luxury bath products. “I noticed how quickly my olfactory sense was developing,” says McCoy, “which in turn ended up being very beneficial once I got back into baking.”

McCoy missed the camaraderie in the kitchen after three years away from the restaurant industry. In 2006 she moved south to New Orleans where Executive Chef Emeril Lagasse offered her the position of Pastry Chef for the re-opening of Emeril's Delmonico after Hurricane Katrina. McCoy developed the pastry program from the ground up, focusing on signature dish development, in-house preserving programs and seasonal dessert menus. In June 2007 McCoy was one of five pastry chefs nominated for Best Dessert Menu from Food Arts magazine's Golden Pastry Scoop Award from a pool of over 300 contestants.

At FORGE, McCoy is refining her talent for classic seasonal desserts. Rustic Summer Berry Pie with Crème Fraiche Ice Cream and Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnuts with Sauternes Poached Peaches parallel her signature style of memorable and comforting desserts. “What instantly drew me to FORGE was the sense of passion and community that I remembered from cooking in Chicago. Everyday involves crafting and collaborating.”