MRG Culinary was founded by Chef Michael Romo, evolving from a series of chef driven supper clubs launched in 2021 as a response to the barriers of traditional fine dining.
After years working in acclaimed Michelin kitchens, Michael saw an opportunity to bring the same intention, technique and creativity of fine dining into experiences that felt more accessible, personal and connected to the communities they served.
What began as hyperseasonal nine course tasting menus in intimate spaces throughout Long Beach quickly found an audience. The inaugural series sold out within two months, with subsequent dinners continuing to sell out and earning features in LB908 Magazine & Humans of the Kitchen.
That foundation has since grown into MRG Culinary, a culinary group working across restaurant consulting, concept and menu development, private dining, large scale events and chef driven experiences.
Our work ranges from creating original culinary concepts and developing recipes to building the costing, logistics, SOPs and operational systems required to execute them. Whether developing an intimate tasting menu or a high volume food program, our philosophy remains the same: creativity means little if it cannot be executed.
MRG Culinary represents the evolution of everything we started in 2021, combining culinary creativity with the systems, experience and operational discipline necessary to bring an idea from concept to service.
Create with intention. Execute without compromise.
MRG Culinary combines creativity, technical discipline and operational experience to develop food programs that are distinctive, functional and built to perform. From original concepts and restaurant development to private dining and large scale operations, we approach every project with the belief that a great idea is only as valuable as its execution.
Our work is built on four pillars:
Creativity
Every concept begins with a point of view. We develop a distinct culinary language around each project, creating original ideas, details and experiences that give the concept an identity entirely its own.
Discipline
We apply precision to every stage of development, from recipes and sourcing to costing, logistics, systems and service. Creativity establishes the vision. Discipline makes it repeatable.
Functionality
We build food that works in the environment for which it was created. Every menu must balance creativity with consistency, profitability and real world execution.
Standards
Completion is not the benchmark. We continually refine the food, systems and experience until every element feels intentional and unmistakably its own. Each concept is developed with a distinct signature, creating an identity that can be recognized, remembered and carried through every detail.
MRG Culinary exists to turn culinary ideas into complete, executable operations, each with an identity and signature entirely its own.
Create with intention. Execute without compromise.