I believe that if you ask a person to list 25 things about themselves you may not have known already, you’re likely to get to the true essence of who they are pretty quickly. I even added an extra five to my list for good measure.

25 Things You Didn’t Know About Marc Murphy

1. I never complain about anything, ever.
2. French and English are my first languages. I also speak fluent Italian and Spanish.
3. I was a clown on the Achille Lauro when I was 16. Yes, you read that right.
4. I didn’t go to college.
5. If I wasn’t severely dyslexic, I might have been an architect.
6. I drink at least six cups of tea a day. Always needing caffeine.
7. I don’t believe in moisturizer and only use it because my wife tells me to.
8. My last meal would be a big bowl of carbonara, made by me.
9. I’m a dual citizen of the US and France.
10. When I was between jobs in the 90s I assisted choreographer Jerome Robbins while he was putting together the Jerome Robbins Retrospective at New York City Ballet.
11. I built Landmarc [Tribeca] almost entirely by myself.
12. I can’t talk about my kids without getting weepy.
13. I have incredible amounts of energy, but when I’m tired I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime, in seconds.
14. My favorite mode of transportation is a motorcycle or Vespa.
15. I was the Executive Chef of Cellar in the Sky at Windows in the World Trade Center after the first bombing.
16. I used to dislike okra, but I’ve learn to like it.
17. I don’t have any tattoos.
18. I always wear shorts to the beach and change into my bathing suit when I get there. It makes people crazy.
19. I can’t spell. At all.
20. Prince Albert of Monaco was my babysitter in the late seventies.
21. I love the opera, the ballet, classical music and hip hop equally.
22. I have no patience for The Real Housewives of anywhere.
23. I love being invited to other people’s houses for dinner, but no one ever really asks me.
24. My wife is my greatest inspiration. And she didn’t make me write that.
25. I started drinking espresso late in the game but I now have at least one a day.
26. I believe good scotch should be served with one ice cube.
27. My parents live in Monte Carlo. Who does that?
28. I’ve only been to Los Angeles a few times in my life. My wife wants to move there.
29. I don’t think any meal can truly be enjoyed without good wine and good company.
30. I believe that no one in our company works for me — they all work with me. And I couldn’t do any of what I do without each and every one of them.

Click here to meet the rest of my incredible team, and here to read that run-of-the-mill bio I was told I had to include. It’s long, but worth the read, I think.