Mark H. Brezinski, the forty-five-year veteran of the dynamic restaurant industry, has released a new book called FORKFIGHT!: Whisks, Risks, and Conflicts Behind the Restaurant Curtain. Heralded by Simon & Schuster as “the most compelling, insightful, and white-knuckled journey behind the restaurant curtain since Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential,” is available now.
A graduate of the famed School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, Brezinski has created or co-created multiple nationally acclaimed restaurant companies, which are chronicled throughout FORKFIGHT!. The 225-page hardcover book, published by Post Hill Press, looks back on experiences spanning 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.
“The restaurant business is a show unlike any other, “ says Brezinski. “In FORKFIGHT!, I open up about my successes and failures in the restaurant world, by chronicling the stories collected through traveling the globe to create great restaurants and working alongside some of the most dynamic personalities. This is certainly a no-holds-barred look inside this consistently challenging industry that keeps me coming back for more.
“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,” said Lane Cardwell, Former CEO of Boston Market, Former President of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Former CEO of Eatzi’s Market & Bakery.
“I have lived in 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,” said Cardwell.
Spanning almost five decades, Mark’s intimate tenure with the restaurant industry has 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, and from Mumbai to Maui. “I hope that this book takes readers to all of these places and more while telling behind-the-scenes stories—sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, and never without lessons learned. I believe that 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,” says Breziniski. Mark resides in Dallas and, never one to leave a stone unturned, is currently the founder of his latest concept, Bizzy Burger Merchants, which features his vision of better fast food. There will be a book signing of ForkFight on Saturday, April 22nd from 1 pm-3 pm at Bizzy Burger Merchants located at 13251 Montfort Drive, Dallas, TX 75240.
About Mark H. Brezinski
Mark H. Brezinski is widely recognized in the restaurant industry as a 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 CEOs.” D Magazine recently celebrated Brezinski as “the father of Dallas’ fast casual food scene” and in 2020, he was named one of North Texas Top 500 CEOs by the D CEO Magazine.
Praise for FORKFIGHT!
“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
“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