Clark Wolf has more than thirty years of experience in the food industry and is founder and President of Clark Wolf Company, a New York-based food and restaurant consulting firm. He has been called the "slam dunk, hit city food consultant" and a "Merchandising Maestro."

Wolf has consulted to major hotel companies, such as Loews, Rosewood, and Sheraton, to venerable institutions like The Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center and The Guggenheim Museum, to legendary restaurants such as The Russian Tea Room, The Library at The Regency Hotel and The Sign of the Dove, to Las Vegas Casinos, like Mandalay Bay, Paris Las Vegas and Caesar’s Palace, and to food companies and marketing boards like The Walnut Marketing Board, Food and Wines from France and The California Milk Advisory Board.

Wolf is a Contributing Authority to Food Arts Magazine, a member of salon.com’s Kitchen Cabinet and a regular guest on KSRO’s The Drive, the only live talk show in Sonoma County. He has written a regular cuisine and culture commentary column for Forbes Magazine and has been contributing editor to COOK'S Magazine. His newly published book American Cheeses, from Simon & Schuster, was called by Alex Witchell of The New York Times "a savvy valentine to the men and women who devote their lives to the labor-intensive passion of cheesemaking." In addition to appearing recently on CBS Sunday Morning, he has appeared on CNN, the TV Food Network, and as a regular contributor on CNBC's "The Real Story”.

Traveling extensively, he lectures and gives seminars to chefs' associations, food professionals, cooking and food service students and industry groups from California to Paris on subjects ranging from food trends, specialty foods, restaurants and marketing to restaurant real estate and finance.

Wolf’s work in Design Direction has led to the creation in collaboration with Fortessa, one of the industry’s leading design, development and marketing companies, of a successful line of tableware that is utilized in hotels and restaurants around the country and sold in select retail environments, including Crate & Barrel.

After leaving his Southern California hometown for the San Francisco Bay Area to complete a degree in English Literature, Wolf was a waiter on the railroad, working eighteen-hour days on the line from Oakland to Chicago. He then opened and managed a cheese and wine shop at the base of Nob Hill, where a chance meeting led to a lasting friendship with the legendary James Beard. Wolf next opened the San Francisco branch of the Oakville Grocery and retooled the original Napa Valley store. He was the first to retail Laura Chenel’s California Chevre and spent countless hours finding and sampling foodstuffs with the likes of author Marion Cunningham, Chef Alice Waters, editor and author Ruth Reichl and chef Jeremiah Tower.

In 1982, he was brought to Manhattan by Barbara Kafka to open and run Star Spangled Foods. One year later, Wolf began traveling, lecturing, consulting to specialty food retail stores and doing some ancillary restaurant consulting. After being recommended to The Santo Group by John Mariani, Wolf and Joe Santo created Arizona 206. They then collaborated on the re-do of The Sign of the Dove (earning three stars in the NY Times), Yellowfingers and Arizona café.

In 1986 Wolf formed Clark Wolf Company. In 1989 he began consulting to Jonathan Tisch and Loews Hotels, with whom he has worked on eighteen hotels. In 1994, he opened his own restaurant, The Markham, in New York City. After a successful two year run, wolf sold his part of The Markham to refocus on Clark Wolf Company.

Starting in 1996, Wolf has served as Chair of the Advisory Committee to New York University’s Department of Nutrition & Food Studies and helped to formulate the country’s first full Food Studies program with the scientist and educator Dr. Marion Nestle. After founding the New York chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food, he served on its National Board and mounted six international conferences. Other pro bono work includes: consulting to annual fundraising event for Thirteen/WNET for sixteen years, creating the Sunday Night Supper for God’s Love We Deliver and serving on the Executive Committee of Aid & Comfort benefits in San Francisco and Boston.

In 2009, Twenty-five years after helping Chris Kimball launch the Who’s Who of Cooking in America Awards for Cook’s Magazine Wolf was inducted into that prestigious group, now the Hall of Fame for the James Beard Foundation. At the Beard Awards at Lincoln Center (where Wolf hosted the Who’s Who twice in the first seven years) famed chef Emeril Lagasse and domestic goddess Martha Stewart presented the inductees. Lagasse made special mention of Wolf’s contribution at NYU and his well regarded Critical Topics in Food Series at the Food Studies Collection at the Fales Rare Books and Collections section of the NYU Bobst Library.

Current and recent projects include: the town of Seaside, Florida; Signal Bay in Kelowna on Lake Okanagan, British Columbia; Tamarine Fresh, Naples, Italy Chamber of Commerce; The Monkey Bar, NYC; Fireman Hospitality/Cafe Concepts, New York and National Harbor; Mandalay Resort Group in Las Vegas; Park Place Entertainment in Las Vegas and other locations nationally, including Caesar’s Palace, The Flamingo, Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas; East West Partners in North Lake Tahoe, Denver and Beaver Creek, CO; the recently re-done Hotel Del Coronado and Arizona Biltmore; The National Arts Club; Rockefeller University; the Sheraton Universal Hotel at Universal Studios; and the Resort and Spa at Natirar.


 

Scott Mitchell has extensive experience at the core development of creative and trend-based small businesses.  Mitchell studied design at the University of Texas at Austin and has led several academically-based national organizations.

As a design partner at the leading custom bridal house in New York he was instrumental in tripling sales and profits without increasing staff size.  During his years as assistant to the designer John Bartlett, Mitchell was key to the launch of a new division and the transfer of the production to Italy and managed the New York headquarters.

After joining Clark Wolf Company in 1998, Mitchell quickly progressed to being its Vice President, and he has been a partner since 2001.  In addition to managing the day to day operation of the company, he oversees strategic planning and business operations and acts as the company’s Treasurer.

With a  diverse background and broad range of abilities, both internally and for clients, Mitchell does everything from proposals, RFP’s, web development and graphic development to financial models, business plans and budgeting.

Tosca Giamatti holds a Bachelors degree in English and a Masters in Food Studies from New York University .

Her broad range of restaurant, specialty food and hospitality experience includes stints at Food Arts Magazine, Dean & Deluca, The Soho Grand Hotel, Murray’s Cheese Shop and Night Sky Restaurant Group.

In addition to managing the selection, acquisition, specification and presentation of Tabletop programs for Hotel and Restaurant clients, Tosca coordinates community outreach and professional conferences, oversees all office activities, and works with Clark on a variety of book, magazine and other media projects.