From Belmar to everywhere. And back again.

Grew up in Belmar, surfing before she could cook. Applied to the University of Miami's marine biology program with dreams of becoming Jacques Cousteau's assistant. The Shore was never background — it was foundation.

The cook didn't show up one night. Marilyn stepped in. She never really stepped back out. Her brother's restaurant — named after the ocean — became her classroom, her calling, and the seed of an identity she would spend the next four decades growing. The name Oshin came full circle decades later when she named her oil.

Before building her own empire, she went to New York to learn. Marion's gave her the craft, the confidence, and the perspective that only a city kitchen can. She absorbed it all — then brought it back to the Shore.

Back in Belmar, she opened her first place. Intimate, loyal, local — Labrador became the neighborhood anchor and the philosophical blueprint for everything that followed.

She opened a 14,000-square-foot global fusion restaurant on the Asbury Park boardwalk during the 2008 financial crisis. Everyone thought she was crazy. She was right. Langosta became a cultural anchor. In 2022, Travel + Leisure named Asbury Park the coolest place on the Shore. Langosta helped make that possible.

She acquired one of Monmouth County's most beloved institutions — What's Your Beef, the iconic Rumson steakhouse since 1969 — and transformed it into Russell & Bette's. A French-American bistro with farm-to-table ingredients, moules frites, beef bourguignon, and bouillabaisse. Same warmth. New soul.

When the pandemic shut everything down, Marilyn pivoted her kitchens to feed her neighbors. Partnering with Fulfill NJ and the Asbury Park Dinner Table, she delivered 2,000+ meals a week to seniors and families in need. Free holiday dinners — a tradition since 2008 — continued without interruption.

A 120-year-old warehouse with original beams salvaged from Andy Warhol's Factory, transformed into a communal cultural center for food, drink, art, music, and events.

She sold Langosta, Labrador, and Pop's Garage. Not because she was done — but because she was ready. After 40 years of building, she knew the difference between holding on out of habit and moving forward with intention.

Spring Lake's first neighborhood bistro and bar. Seasonal American fare, French-influenced, locally sourced. Built with Bret Morgan in a beautifully restored historic building in the heart of one of the Shore's most beloved towns. This is the one she's been working toward her whole life.