Chef Mark Reggiannini on Math, Motivation and Cafe Marmotte
To run a successful restaurant, you need to serve good food. Behind the scenes, you also need a good numbers guy, and Mark Reggiannini ’97 of Cafe Marmotte happens to be both. Reggiannini, who owns the casual French bistro with his wife, Mairen Reagan, got his start as a math major, and though he’s been cooking for decades, he says the degree still comes in handy. Math has “taught me to look at the root of problems and situations,” he says. While Reggiannini has seen his share of high-octane kitchens, he cherishes his time in far less intense ones, too, such as his kitchen at home, where you might find him with his daughter, baking cookies in an Easy-Bake Oven. Keep reading for more of our conversation, which has been edited for length.