Part-Time Chefs, Big Time Dreams

Chris Buckler and Cyrus Coleman (Photograph by Jonathan Timmes)

By Aisha Salazar

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well at Fall Church’s Open Kitchen.

Two timeshare kitchens serve as an experimental laboratory for those who are passionate about food.

Aspiring chefs are encouraged to take full advantage of the resident talent—including executive chef Bernard Henry and his culinary team—and state-of-the-art equipment as part of their rental agreement.

Maureen Lalor, a.k.a. The Unintentional Chef, brought her own marinade recipes and had them finely tweaked by Henry. Now, a few months later, Lalor is in the process of gaining a seal of approval for her marinades from the Virginia Tech Department of Food Science.

The helpful atmosphere is what attracted Cyrus Coleman, proprietor of local catering company Ripe Food and Events. According to Coleman, Open Kitchen “has a more culinary vibe” than other commercial kitchens, estimating that containing costs is critical for cash-strapped startups.

Tan Nguyen, co-owner of Rebel Heroes, a new Vietnamese sandwich food truck set to roll out this spring, agrees. “We’re a food truck so we need to be able to cook at an inspection-ready professional kitchen,” Nguyen said. “Open Kitchen has given us a low-cost way to have the kitchen we need and also freed up valuable time for us to focus on more important things.”

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The story continues at: www.NorthernVirginiaMag.com/okcommunity

(April 2010)