Though he was a semifinalist, Carlo Mirarchi won’t be in the final running for a Beard Foundation Award when they’re doled out on Monday (Maison Premiere and Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery ended up being the only North Brooklynites in the mix). But the esteemed chef-owner at Roberta’s and Blanca has something better coming his way: a new car!
The folks at Lexus tell us he’s their tenth “Culinary Master,” which means he’s getting the keys to the new RC F performance coupe.
As part of the bargain, he’ll help the car company with programming at some of the food and wine events it sponsors, starting with a private dinner at Roberta’s later this month. Lexus also helps chefs out with their charitable causes.
Mirarchi isn’t the first chef to become brand ambassador for a car company (see also: Alex Stupak and Volvo), but even a rep for Lexus admitted he was an unusual pick: “He’s one of the younger, more dynamic chefs that we’ve added.”
Um, yeah. Have you seen the flyer for the Roberta’s Cinco De Mayo party?
Then again, Mirarchi, who’s been known to race motorcycles, apparently really is a “big Lexus fan,” as we’re told: in the above webisode, produced for the company in 2010, he takes one for a ride with stand-up comic Whitney Cummings and tells her why he’s cool with Manhattanites coming to Roberta’s: “If we just had 25-year-old Bushwick kids coming in every day I’d shoot myself,” says the 33-year-old Financial District resident. (Note the disclaimer halfway through the episode, after Mirarchi considers driving to Pumps and talks about a crash involving a White Castle drive thru: “Lexus does not endorse Carlo’s erratic driving.”)
So there you have it: if you see a sick-ass ride parked outside of Roberta’s, making a mockery of all the fixies, you know whose it is. One thing’s for sure: it beats a Food Club plaque.