"The biggest advantage you have with Mark is his knowledge and backgound as a chef. You don’t have to explain ‘this is how much sautéing I do, this is how much grilling.’ He just gets it. And I do think his vision of what custom pieces can mean to a kitchen is, from a sense of practicality and beauty, right on the money." —Charlie Palmer
"Le travail effectué au Monte’s sous sa direction fût d’une grande qualité et j’ai beaucoup apprecié notre collaboration." —Alain Ducasse
"Everyone I asked pointed to one man, Mark Stech-Novak of Restaurant Consultation and Design in Oakland. A former chef whose client list includes Alain Ducasse, Charlie Palmer and Jean George Vongerichten, Stech-Novak's ideas were provocative and precise. But the best thing about him is that he listened to what I envisioned and worked to build it in a style all his own." —David Kinch
“Food Arts presents the September 2003 SILVER SPOON AWARD for sterling performance to Mark Stech-Novak, a kitchen designer as ideally equipped as one of his creations with a unique constellation of experience, talent, and imagination. —Food Arts Magazine
"Mark’s 3-D perspectives and virtual kitchens allow me to walk-through and actually feel the space. He works out all the kinks early on in the design process to avoid costly mistakes. For me, it’s the only way to design a kitchen today." —Jean Gorges Vongerichten
"Chefs and customers are amazed by this kitchen... There has been incredible attention to detail. Because the kitchen is much more open to the public, we get a lot more feedback. It is a beautiful kitchen. It makes you proud to keep it clean." —Jacques Torres
"Wolf, David and I would like to personally thank you for your tremendous assistance in getting these drawings completed so quickly and accurately, especially with our changes in the final hour. In addition, your excellent input and creativity clearly confirms why you are you highly regarded in the industry." —Tom Kaplan
"Even renowned chefs from France have granted that Le Cirque 2000 could indeed establish America as the restaurant capital of the world. When Paul Bocuse toured the kitchen last month before the opening, he said “The flame of fine cuisine has been passed." —The New York Times
"One of the world's premier kitchen designers who continues to devise practical, beautiful, and eloquently well- conceived workspaces for the crème of the profession, with an increasing focus on greener kitchens that use less energy." —Food Arts Magazine
"Mark is an amazing kitchen designer. He is intuitive and really thinks like a chef. He’s very easy to work with, anticipates needs and accommodates concept requirements thoughtfully. I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with Mark on many kitchen projects over the years." —Michael Mina
"They have also brought in the most innovative kitchen designer in America; Mark Stech-Novak. Mr. Novak has designed restaurants for operators such as Alain Ducasse, Le Cirque and Jean-Georges Vongerichten." —The American Institute of Wine & Food
"The thing about Mark is that he’s not just a builder. He’s well traveled and passionate about food. He doesn’t just work from a catalog. He definitely has his own style, but he never imposes his point of view." —Marco Maccioni
"Receiving the 1998 Award of Distinction is Le Cirque 2000, New York, whose elegantly appointed production and display finishing kitchens are capable of supporting the most upscale menus yet were stocked with top of the line equipment at hundreds of thousands of dollars below budget." —Food Service Equipment & Supplies Magazine’s