[2] Clark is credited with having been the first chef in New York City to mix fine-dining and bistro at The Odeon in Tribeca, as well as also having been one of the first American chefs to apply French technique to growing American regional cuisine in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Clark was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Melvin, also a chef, and Idella.
He trained and worked in Britain and France, notably with three-star chef Michel Guérard.
He was kind of famous; he was big and black; most importantly he was American, not some cheese-eating, surrender specialist Froggie.
The couple had five children: two sons, Preston and Cameron, and three daughters, Aleia, Ashley, and Brooke.