Posts Tagged ‘Cathal Armstrong’
Posted by Sally Traynham / Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Excitement over Westover Farmers Market‘s opening debut, set for Sunday, might be tempered by Arlington County Board restrictions. Most notable? Parking issues. [Arlington Mercury]
Woman wins $1 million in lawsuit against Nutella, blaming ads that made her believe it was more nutritious than it actually is. Really? If you were also that naive, you can make the same claim here. [Yahoo]
Twilight mega-star Robert Pattinson enjoyed a medium-rare steak at Majestic Cafe this past Saturday. Before leaving, the heart-throb signed a menu for Cathal Armstrong‘s daughter. [Washingtonian]
Food truck alert. Something Stuffed—a new food truck featuring filled-food items such as egg rolls, empanadas and dumplings—has rolled into Arlington. [ARLnow]
Restaurant Magazine revealed the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2012. Unfortunately no NoVA establishments made the cut. [CNN]
Doctors scold McDonald’s for being a sponsor for the London Olympics, claiming it’s sending the wrong message with its Olympics menu featuring Big Macs, fries and milkshakes. [abc]
[Pet] food recall! Diamond Pet Foods voluntarily recalls its Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food with concerns of salmonella. [delmarvanow]
Photo: Martin Turzak/Shutterstock
[tips for the food desk]
Mount Vernon’s “Hoecake & Hospitality” Cook-Off
Posted by Sally Traynham / Friday, February 17th, 2012
Wake up on Saturday morning to the smell of hot hoecakes over an open fire. Hoecakes, of course, are a type of pancake made from cornmeal and were George Washington’s favorite, especially when served swimming in honey and butter.
This Saturday marks the opening of “Hoecakes & Hospitality: Cooking with Martha Washington.” This is Mount Vernon’s first food-focused exhibit that showcases more than 125 artifacts from the Washingtons’ kitchen, including 18th Century tupperware. (Trust me, it’s a bit more bulky and heavy than our nice, plastic stackables of today.)
To celebrate, four local chefs are coming to throw down and see whose modern take on this open-fire, corn creation will prevail.
The roster includes: Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve (Alexandria), David Guas of Bayou Bakery (Arlington), Christophe Poteaux of Bastille Restaurant (Alexandria) and Robert Wiedmaier of BRABO (Alexandria).
Traditional samples of George Washington’s favorite breakfast will also be served up by Mount Vernon staff.
After the cook-off, head inside to experience the interactive exhibit that features food murals, recipes adaptations of 18th Century dishes, such as “Ragoo of Asparagus,” Washington-era kitchen equipment, including a heart-shaped waffle press, jam skillets and wine cooler, and authentic notes and writings from our country’s first presidential family.
Dive into this early celebration of George Washington’s 280th birthday at Mount Vernon. Can’t make it? The exhibit will be open through August 11, 2013.
Photo: Sally Traynham
[tips for the food desk]
What Does “Ethnic” Mean to Society Fair’s Cathal Armstrong?
Posted by Stefanie Gans / Thursday, January 19th, 2012
The highly anticipated Society Fair opens this Saturday at 6 pm in Old Town. The food emporium will offer gourmet sandwiches (braised short ribs and lamb shoulder), as well as unique cuts of meat, plus cheese and wine.
The restaurant, dubbed “The Demo Kitchen,” will feature a rotating theme from Tuesday through Saturday. (Later on, Sunday and Monday will feature classes such as bread making and charcuterie.)
>>Click here for a sneak peek of the wine bar menu.
For example, Thursday promises comfort dishes, while Friday features fish. But Tuesday? That’s labeled “ethnic.”
Chef Cathal Armstrong, the power name behind the operation, is a son of Ireland and has lived in the United States since 1990. So how does this immigrant view “ethnic?”
Armstrong laughed when posed the question. He then said to, “Look it up in the dictionary,” and quickly called out to others in the room. He returned with not the controversial answer (I was so clearly digging for), “Food from other nations outside of the United States,” which he lists as Lebanese, Greek, Asian, Thai, Indian and Japanese. The broad term gives the kitchen room to play around, he says.
With only 10 seats, be sure to set a reservation for NoVA’s newest experiment.
Photo: Society Fair
[tips for the food desk / follow @gansie]
Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
Being comfy in the kitchen is one thing. But chef Keith Fedorko is just as at home out in the fields:
The Willow Creek Farm toque treasures the 2-acre farm–featuring 21 planting beds that alternately support: tomatoes, French beans, peas, assorted hot and sweet peppers, rosemary, thyme, Swiss chard, escarole, potatoes, corn and, potentially, sunchokes–that rings his exurban restaurant, crediting it, and the seasonal bounty, with constantly challenging his natural curiosity and culinary showmanship. “It keeps us on our toes,” he said of the steady rotation of raw materials.
WR: Salt. Pepper. What other culinary elements could you not live without?
KF: Butter, pork, root vegetables, stocks (veal,chicken, fish) and flour
WR: What’s the very first dish you ever mastered? How long did it take? Do you still make it today?
KF: The first dish that I ever mastered was lightly dusted skate wing with brown butter sauce and capers. Having to butcher whole skate wing was what took the most time in preparing this dish. I still make this dish occasionally.
WR: What seasonal ingredient(s) get your creative juices flowing?
KF: For winter monkfish, for spring soft shell crab, for summer tomatoes and for fall duck
WR: My latest cookbook obsession is …
KF: I’ve always been and will be obsessed with Harold McGee On Food And Cooking, and all of James Peterson’s cookbooks
WR: What’s the most challenging dish you’ve ever attempted? Would you make it again?
KF: The most challenging dish I’ve ever made was coq au vin. I make this dish in late fall every year.
WR: If I could spend the day working alongside any local chef, I’d love to collaborate with …
KF: Chef Cathal Armstrong
WR: What’s the easiest/quickest–but still wholly satisfying–meal you make for yourself?
KF: Kabob koobide with rice, grilled tomato and summak
WR: In the next six months you won’t want to miss my …
KF: New fall entrees from my chef team at Willow Creek Farm
WR: It’s quitting time. I’m pouring myself …
KF: Pint of Guinness
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Skate wing in brown butter is one of our favorites, too. Can’t wait to try your version.
Come back next Tuesday for another helping of Red Meat.
–Warren
Back of the House: Quit Fronting
Posted by Warren Rojas / Friday, May 6th, 2011
An insiders guide to the navigating the restaurant world.
~
“There are definite procedures to ensure a positive dining / restaurant experience. It all
begins with this idea: Prepare for good dining karma.”
- Restaurant Eve Service Manual
~
How to Give (and Get) ‘Good Phone’ • Part II
“. . .Brrriiiiinggg . . .”
“Good evening, thank you for calling Restaurant Eve. How may I help you?”
“Yes, I need a reservation for this Saturday night for a party of four.”
“Oh, my apologies sir, we are fully committed this Saturday, may I check another date for you.”
“Um, well, perhaps you should check again. This is Mr. Ralph, I am a good friend of Chef Kethel Armstrong and my dinner companion is a notable blogger from Boston.”
The die was cast.
There are a few unwritten rules when it comes to acquiring a hard-to-get reservation.
Remember back when I said you might not always like what you hear?
Depending on your reservation habits, this might be that time.
An entire section of DON’Ts could easily come across as negative or snarky, especially since the hospitality industry is basically designed to be, well, hospitable.
You don’t go to a fine dining restaurant to have the waiters tell you how you should use your utensils or listen to the chef tell you how you should eat your food … So who am I to tell you what you shouldn’t do when you try to make a reservation?
Read on.
My day is far more pleasant when it’s spent assisting nice people who trust that I’m going to do my best to make their dining wishes happen. But sometimes it’s waaay easier to deal with a jackass.
Doling out the bad-news-blow to someone who took five minutes of my life away dispensing bombastic “But don’t you know who I am?!” drivel is on the spot fun. (“Oh, I do have one at 7:30 p.m. … oh no. I’m so sorry, I was mistaken, the 9 looked like a 7.”)
Especially, when Mr. “Jacques Haas” even had the nerve to swear a bit.
Now, it still troubles me when I can’t find a table for the genuine sort: new parents trying to squeeze in their anniversary dinner or that anxious but charming gentleman trying to plan his honey’s birthday. I know it sucks, been there.
Most of you—and I do mean most (somewhere in the 95 percent area)—will find the following what not to do instructions laughable. You’ll probably even have a “Nah-uh, people do that?!?” moment.
The other 5 percent—well, you know who you are.
DON’T lie.
Never, ever, ever.
Some people are so desperate in their quest to get a table that they tell loopy whoppers. I can’t tell you how many calls I get from “close, personal friends” of my husband, Cathal, who don’t know how to pronounce his first name. His name is Cathal (silent ‘t’) not Cathay, (he’s not a woman) Carl (“but isn’t that the American version?”), or my favorite, Chatall (which puts me in stitches because it somehow reminds me of the fabulous movie, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, whose plot is based on the journey of three drag queens).
Or, the most hilare is when they are “close, personal friends” of mine and they are talking . . . to me. Caught in the BS! But of course, I then have to pretend not to be me:
“Oh, I’m sure she would have been so upset to have missed you, but unfortunately 9:30 p.m. is still the only availability .”
And, here’s a good one: Saturday night tables filled with guests eating, chatting, proposing—you know, the usual—patrons spilling out of the bar, waiting for their reservations, and me at the desk (when it was my gig) chatting with guests and sending my hosts to far corners of the dining rooms for the in-house status reports.
Two gentlemen present themselves for a 7:30 p.m. reservation in the Tasting Room. Immediately I tune out all the chatter from the bar and dining rooms and focus all of my attention on the gentlemen and the booked-solid floor plan in front of me.
Something has gone very, very wrong.
We never ever have a Saturday 7:30 p.m. reservation for two in the Tasting Room (It just doesn’t work out—the table can never have a second seating, so it’s reserved for four).
Panic sets in when I cannot find a record of them or their reservation anywhere in the computer or in the “Black Book” (the actual book of written floor plans and timing—we have a double-entry system, sort of as a backup; it’s easy to spot errors this way).
Anyway, in these situations I always give guests the benefit of the doubt. I know that mistakes and miscommunications happen, and wherever the fault lies, it’s my job to make it right. I begin to explain the situation and invite the gentlemen to relax with a cocktail while I sort everything out.
Internally, my brain is in hyper drive: think, think, who’s on dessert? Who looks fine drinking at the bar and can I give their table to the two standing in front of me?
But I am cut off when the “gentlemen” in question proceed to throw down the Veruca Salt tantrum.
To drown out my apologies and offers of a solution, the “gentlemen” get louder. Guests in the bar start to notice that there is drama brewing, (you know how everyone loves drama) so soon we have an audience—dinner and a show, everybody!
The “gentlemen” notice the on-lookers and begin to really lay it on, dropping details about Restaurant Eve’s unprofessionalism and how they should have gone to the “other restaurant.”
Then they strike:
“Listen, we made this reservation last week with a young man who seemed pre-tee flaky over the phone. Maybe you should train your staff better, because this is just ridiculous.”
My insides begin to churn and my sympathy, gone.
Big fibbers.
We didn’t have a single male host at Restaurant Eve (at the time), and the servers are not permitted to answer the phones, so I know flaky reservations boy is either totally invented or employed at another restaurant, probably annoyed that his 7:30 p.m. two-top is late. But my gut serves me well, as when I inform them (in the slowest speech I can manage to really draw it out) that a 7:30 p.m. never existed and all hosts are female, they quieted down real quick (still a show, remember) and slinked off into the night, one whispering to the other, “See, now where do we go?”
The moral of this story: “Big fat liars, tried to embarrass us into giving them a table.” So don’t lie.
DON’T book a reservation you KNOW you can’t make
Here’s a tip for all of you spontaneous types: if you can be flexible, it’s worth calling on the day you’d like to dine. Generally restaurants call to confirm reservations at least a day in advance. On Thursday mornings I know we’ll have a few cancellations for the weekend, and if we can’t reach anyone on the wait-list we open those tables up for new callers.
I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to hitch one of those last-minute tables, but I do know I can count on those cancellations. It seems like one of the laws of the universe. Those cancellation calls even all sound the same, like the guests and I are reading from the same script:
“Hello Dr. Ralph, this is Restaurant Eve calling to confirm your 6 p.m. reservation for two this Saturday.”
“Oh, hello. Anything open up at, like 7:30 p.m.?”
“I’m very sorry, sir, but we are still fully committed at that time.”
“Then I’m just going to have to cancel.”—Click.
This is why reservations are so hard to get. Every time you book a reservation you have no intention of keeping, someone else can’t get a table. You know in your heart when you are resentfully making your “ugh, who eats at that hour” reservation, you aren’t going to keep it.
Go on, let it go. Leave it for someone who will.
DON’T name-drop yourself
This isn’t lying so much as overstating. Dropping a title without explanation as you try to imply that you are someone the host should know makes all of us roll the eyes to heaven.
When you start your conversation with, “This is Dr. Ralph and I need a table for four,” or “Congressman X wants a table on the 3rd,” the host starts racing through her mental Rolodex:
“Dr. Ralph? Is that Chef’s doctor? No… one of his cousins? Guy on T.V show? Crap!”
As you carry on a seemingly normal conversation, she starts furiously looking up guest records—“Dr. Ralph, Dr. Ralph, which Dr. Ralph? Fred? Thomas?”—until she realizes that the reason she doesn’t recognize your name is because this will be your first visit to the restaurant.
Hosts hate this because it makes them feel like you think they won’t do their jobs unless you’re a VIP. Or even worse, that you are trying to trick them by making yourself sound highfalutin.
There is no need to lean on your title.
Gucci, Pucci, Hoochie. As long as we have the table, you like to eat (and can pay), it’s all good.
To us, everyone is a VIP. Until proven otherwise.
Like in my daughter, Eve’s, class: everyone starts with an A. It’s what you do that can lose it.
So avoid earning yourself that un-VIP-able status. (Refer to the first DO in part one of this column.) It’s our job to make you feel special, to make you feel cared for. We will try every bit as hard to fit in a straightforward ‘Miss, or Mr.’ as we will a General.
And my personal bête noir: If you mention that you’re a frequent Yelp-er or Chowhound-er as a scare tactic to acquire a reservation or to gain special treatment you should be officially forced to carry the scarlet fork. It not only makes you sound like a real git but you give a bad name to some of the really good, committed to food and dining blogs out there, who call for reservations like everyone else. During dinner as we engage you, who you are and what food scene jazzes you will naturally emerge. And we’ll be thrilled that you’ve chosen us.
In the viral age, many have the “I eat – therefore I review” mentality, unfortunately the power of the slapdash keystroke has gone to some of their heads:
“It’s reeeally too bad you don’t have anything this Saturday—I was planning on reviewing you. Have you heard of fudiefan.com?”
Seriously, if this is your behavior on the phone, imagine what we have to fear when you actually arrive.
I’d rather give the table to the person who won’t write about us, and take my chances with the good ol’ word of mouth critique. I can’t speak for others but strong-arming me with a “are you sure you want to say ‘no’ to me” tactic won’t work.
To us, everyone is a critic.
————————————————————————————————————
So there they are, a few unwritten reservation rules, written.
Whether or not you get that one available table is up to you.
But I promise you, if you mind the “don’ts” and practice the “do’s”, you will notice a significant upgrade in your reservation karma, and your personal ‘guests notes’ (notes given to you based on your history) will be flagged by hosts everywhere to read:
“(Insert your name) . . . a first-class diner.”
–Meshelle Armstrong, co-owner Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, PX, The Majestic, Virtue Feed & Grain, Society Fair. *Thoughtfully guided by her darling and faithful ex-reservations manager, Kate Ahner*
————————————————————————————————————
Contemplate the collective Back of the House wisdom by following along here.
Got a story/ question/comment to contribute to the dining karma conversation? Leave a comment below. Or go straight to the source at: Eatgoodfood@me.com
Posted by ryan / Thursday, March 31st, 2011
Established restaurateur Cathal Armstrong, his wife Meshelle, and partner Todd Thrasher plan on adding another place to an already stellar repertoire. Restaurant Eve, The Majestic, PX, and Eamonn’s are all owned and operated by their EatGoodFood Group. This new property is located in Old Town Alexandria on South Union Street.
Renovation efforts are ongoing in the historic building that once housed Olsson’s Books. The finished product should be capable of accommodating over 300 people on two floors and an outdoor deck. See the vision for it below.
Virtue • Feed & Grain is an Irish-American themed tavern, a familiar model that continues to be praiseworthy and successful. The menu features some of Cathal’s personal favorites, and Todd’s inventive beverages.
Specialty dishes include pigs in a blanket, haddock soup, mussels, grilled cheese, steak, kidney pot pie, and roast pork belly. As the name implies, all ingredients are guaranteed fresh and organic. “Taste No Evil” is the trademarked motto.
They’ve obviously been doing something right with previous ventures. The James Beard Foundation recognized these men for their efforts by nominating them both for prestigious awards. Winners are announced May 9, which is around the same time this new restaurant opens.
-Ryan Robertson
(image: Virtue • Feed & Grain)
Posted by ryan / Monday, March 21st, 2011
The James Beard Foundation Awards have been called “the Oscars of the Food World” by Time magazine. It honors the country’s best chefs, restaurateurs, designers, and journalists for their creativity and professionalism. This year’s nominees were recently announced. Looking closely at the list of semifinalists, I found several deserving locals up for consideration.
Restaurant Eve of Old Town Alexandria is an Irish-themed restaurant that can be found in the Outstanding Service category. Co-owner Cathal Armstrong could realistically win the award for the best chef in the Mid-Atlantic region. Head Sommelier Todd Thrasher has been nominated for the most outstanding wine and spirit professional in the country. Both have been honored several times in the past. Numerous publications like the Washingtonian, Food & Wine, and even Playboy have praised these men for what they do. This is Armstrong’s fourth nomination and Thrasher’s second at the JBF Awards.
Cathal, an Irish native and his wife Meshelle may very well be the most distinguished restaurateurs in the Metropolitan area. Eamonn’s, PX, and The Majestic are all a part of their EatGoodFood, LLC. Success has allowed them to give back to the community often. They’ve put a lot of time and effort into protecting our nation’s agricultural resources and eradicating hunger among children. In fact, The National Restaurant Association awarded them the The Neighborhood Community Award for their charitable works in 2006.
Bertrand Chemel of the 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church is also in the running for the best chef in the Mid-Atlantic. The executive chef from the south of France has made quite a name for himself since he took over. The Wine Spectator recently gave 2491 the “Best of the Best” Award for its extensive selection. The innovative menu changes seasonally, the tasting menu changes nightly, and an unforgettable culinary experience is practically ensured.
District nominees include Kushi Izakaya & Sushi, Palena, and Knightsbridge Restaurant Group.
Winners will be announced at the Lincoln Center in New York City on Monday, May 9 at 6 p.m.
Good luck to them all!
-Ryan Robertson
(image: James Beard Awards)
Waiter? There’s an iPad in My Soup!
Posted by Warren Rojas / Friday, March 11th, 2011
(Image: Meshelle Armstrong)
Perky Myriad font on the Apple website cheerfully describes how the advent of the iPad2, with its dual cameras and dual processors, will allow us to integrate office documents and make gorgeous, intuitive business presentations and …
Zzzzzzzzz ….
Ooops. I fell asleep thinking about all of this boring business duality.
If Apple really wants to get my—I mean our—attention with today’s iPad2 roll out, may I humbly suggest shoving all the tedious business talk down the disposal and do what Apple does best: yack about fun stuff.
Like getting messy in the kitchen.
And that’s not just my personal bias talking.
Gastronauts who enjoy their comestibles with a side of technology are fast becoming a demographic of which techies should take stock. The National Restaurant Association’s 2011 Industry Forecast indicates that food-focused consumers tend to be more technologically savvy, and that frequent restaurant customers are more likely than the general public to use various forms of technology on a daily basis. The report states, “81 percent of frequent full-service and quick-service customers, and 77 percent of frequent off-premises dinner customers said they frequently used the Internet, compared with 72 percent of all adults.” The same survey also states that 13 percent of restaurant customers use mobile apps compared to 8 percent of the general public.
And it’s not just consumers who live at the intersection of mobile technology and gastronomy.
Culinary professionals from food writers and publishers to restaurateurs and chefs have long been niche users of mobile and interactive technologies that are the cornerstone of devices like the iPhone and the iPad.
Lorena Jones, publishing director at San Francisco-based Chronicle Books, is responsible for digital initiatives in her publisher’s food and drink portfolio.
“We have long believed that many of the authors we work with have a depth of knowledge that is not entirely captured in a 3-D book,” Jones related. “Food is a category that just lends itself to visual stimulation and interactive engagement.”
And even though the model has yet to be fully tested, the potential for revenue from apps on tablet devices to breathe life into a sickly print publishing industry also makes the interactivity and mobility of tablets and smart phones appealing as a complement to offline ventures. “We’re highly motivated to generate another revenue source for our authors,” Jones said of the growing e-publishing realm.
Chef and restaurateur Cathal Armstrong (pictured above) has been a devotee of Apple products for years, and was a quick adopter of the iPad when it debuted.
“It’s a powerful tool that’s fun to use,” Armstrong said, estimating that his iPad has become as indispensable as a loyal and capable sous chef. Unlike outdated desktop computers, the web-ready tablet moves WITH Armstrong—an invaluable feature for a leader who often finds himself juggling supplier calls, customer-related queries from employees and general back-of-house issues, all while in the middle of choreographing his award-winning dinner service.
“We’re always connected,” Armstrong said of his ability to reach general manager Todd Thrasher or his wife/business partner Meshelle Armstrong on their own iPads with just a few keystrokes. “If we have a guest that loses something we need to be able to communicate with each other 24/7. That’s just part of the service if you want to work in a four-star restaurant.”
Multi-platform food scribe Michael Ruhlman sees a lot of potential in devices like the iPad, not only as a practical cooking tool, but also as a community builder.
“Devices like the iPad aren’t changing the way people cook yet, but I think that the iPad and the tablet devices that follow it are going revolutionize cooking, Ruhlman suggested. “And I want be a part of it.”
Ruhlman has been not only a very early adopter of this technology, but also a producer. Ruhlman’s Ratio app, a digital companion to his book, has been downloaded at least 8,000 times ($4.99 on iTunes).
“I get great feedback from people who use [my app] all the time. People often tweet that they are using Ratio for pancakes this morning or whatever,” he said. “I see a lot more interesting stuff happening. I see a way that cooks can share their experiences with one another, a way to keep a sort of a running diary on what they’re doing. All kinds of things are possible and we’re just now discovering the potential. I mean, it just started and the possibilities are, at least now, they feel endless.”
Endless possibilities, indeed.
Like, instead of a dual camera, I would settle for just one camera–AND a device that wouldn’t fall victim to cookie dough smudges or cake batter mishaps.
Are you listening, Apple?
–Amy Loeffler
2011 VA/DC Reppin’ James Beard Foundations Semifinalists
Posted by rebecca / Monday, February 21st, 2011
The James Beard Foundation has announced the semifinalists for this year. These fine restaurants, chefs, wine professionals, and restaurateurs from the VA/DC area have earned their places on the coveted list among 28,000 online nominees across the country. The nominated semifinalists will be evaluated and judged by a panel of 550-600 judges, including past James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award winners. The finalists in each category will be announced in March, and winners will claim their medallions on May 9, at an awards ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York.
The James Beard Award is like the “Oscars of food.” Congrats and excellent work to the hard-working and passionate chefs, restaurateurs, and professionals from Virginia and D.C.-especially to Restaurant Eve, a semifinalist in three different categories!
Best New Restaurant
Estadio, DC
Kushi Izakaya & Sushi, DC
Outstanding Chef
Jose Andres, Minibar by Jose Andres, DC
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Huw Griffiths, Tabard Inn, DC
Outstanding Restaurant
Palena, DC
Outstanding Restaurateur
Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group (701, Ardeo+Bardeo, Bibiana, The Bombay Club, The Oval Room and Rasika), DC
Outstanding Service
Marcel’s, DC
Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional
Todd Thrasher, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Nicholas Stefanelli, Bibiana, DC
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Betrand Chemel, 2941 Restaurant, Falls Church, VA
Melissa Close-Hart, Palladio at Barboursville Vineyards, Barboursville, VA
Tony Conte, The Oval Room, DC
Johnny Monis, Komi, DC
Peter Pastan, Obelisk, DC
Dale Reitzer, Acacia, Richmond, VA
John B. Shields, Town House, Chilhowie, VA
Vikram Sunderam, Rasika, DC
(image: 2491)
Chef Cathal Armstrong (image: Restaurant Eve)
-Rebecca Kim
NoVA Chefs Heed White House’s Call
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, June 4th, 2010
(Image: James Beard Foundation)
The South Lawn was flooded with a sea of toques this afternoon as chefs from every state descended on the White House to show their solidarity for Michelle Obama’s “Chefs Move to Schools” campaign.
The program aims to enrich school lunch programs by encouraging trained chefs/food service professionals to “adopt” a public learning institution and then work towards improving the quality of meals served to students.
“You can teach kids to cook something that tastes good and is good for them; and share your passion for food in a way that’s truly contagious,” Mrs. Obama told the assembled chefs. She also stressed that participating chefs would hardly be going it alone.
“When you go into the schools … work closely with our food service professionals to support the work that they do every day. They’re looking forward to getting some extra help–they need it–doing everything from teaching basic cooking skills in the cafeteria to encouraging healthy choices in the lunch line. But it’s got to be a collaboration,” Obama counseled.
Early reports from the White House suggest that roughly 1,000 chefs and 500 schools have signed on to the nascent program.
A quick scan of chefs who had signed on to “Chefs Move” through Share Our Strength showed approaching 40 hospitality vets from all around Virginia, including several do-gooders that should be very familiar to our readers:
* Cathal Armstrong/Restaurant Eve
* Will Artley/Evening Star Cafe
* Chris Ford and Clayton Miller/Trummer’s on Main
* Justus Frank and Miles Vaden/Eventide
* David Guas/DamGoodSweet
* Steve Mannino/Rustico
* Dennis Marron/Grille at Morrison House, Jackson 20
* James Watson and Robert Wiedmaier/BRABO
Most of the chefs we spoke to were still in the process of selecting their adoptive school. But all seemed enthused about the possibility of giving back in a whole new way.
–Warren