eat Washington

Kaz Okoshi - Owner-chef of Kaz Sushi Bistro - 19 Aug 2008

Once Kaz Okochi completed the fine arts course in Oklahoma he had come from Japan to the U.S. to take up, he headed home to enroll in the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka. When he told its career counselor he'd like to cook in America, the counselor suggested he focus on becoming a sushi chef. read more...

Peggy Thompson - Chef of DISH - 12 Aug 2008

Peggy Thompson, chef at DISH, worked as a meeting planner before going to culinary school. Boredom inspired her to start a new career, and through it she found more than just good food. read more...

Peter Smith - Owner-chef of PS7s - 5 Aug 2008

In the family of executive chef and owner of PS7s, passion for food was passed down through the males. read more...

Nora Pouillon - Owner-chef of Restaurant Nora - 19 Jul 2008

Chef Nora Pouillon has been a force in the sustainable-sourcing, organic and slow food movements. At Restaurant Nora, she keeps pushing for change. read more...

Graham Bartlett - Chef of Zengo - 2 Jul 2008

Graham Bartlett is executive chef of Zengo, where you can find almost everything from ceviche to sushi. He caught the “food bug” while traveling with his parents in Mexico. But Paris, not the States nor Latin America was where he went to learn the culinary arts. read more...

Alison Swope - Chef of Restaurant K by Alison Swope - 16 Jun 2008

When Andale, the Penn Quarter restaurant focusing on the foods of Mexico's Oaxaca state, closed at the end of summer 2006, it was more than usually distressing for Alison Swope, the executive chef and co-owner behind Andale. "Most of that staff had been together for 10 years," she says. Loyal followers of Swope's cooking were equally dismayed. There are few enough women chefs in Washington that it can afford to lose one, especially one of her caliber. read more...

Pam Ginsberg - knife skills at the bone - 15 Jun 2008

Pam Ginsberg knows cows.

Or beef, to be more precise. And ham, and chickens. And sausagemeat, even. Pam Ginsberg is the butcher once drawing carnivores to her counter at Brookville supermarket on Connecticut Ave NW and now to be found at Waghal's Market in Spring Valley. read more...

Trent Conry - Chef of Ardeo - 15 Jun 2008

Texas-born Trent Conry of Ardeo/Bardeo likes spicy foods, big talk and an ever-changing menu. This summer, Ardeo's roof top tables are where to eat on a holiday that doesn't take you out of town... read more...

Aulie Bunyarataphan - Owner-chef of Bangkok Joe's - 5 Jun 2008

We have her father to thank that Aulie Bunyarataphan is cooking, not designing clothes. (Though judging by what she has done with her restaurant, those clothes would look terrific.)

The owner and chef of Bangkok Joe’s, Bunyarataphan had ambitions growing up in Thailand of going to Paris to study fashion. But Papa didn’t approve. After she graduated high school, he sent her to live with a cousin in Reston, Va., to continue her education. read more...

Phyllis Richman - Queen of Washington restaurant reviews - 3 Jun 2008

Phyllis Richman pads barefoot across her front porch and curls up on the porch swing, tucking her red-painted toes beneath her. She smiles and rocks there like a very gentle version of the Cheshire Cat. She has good reason to smile. Retired now from years as The Washington Post’s restaurant reviewer and food writer, she’s been honored with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award. read more...

Cure Bar & Bistro - 21 May 2008

Kevin Ray Villalovos, Chef de Cuisine of the newly opened Cure Bar & Bistro, works wonders with salt. He's using it to cure salmon, to salt meats and to season his home-made garlic sausage. read more...

Brian McBride - Chef of The Blue Duck Tavern - 19 May 2008

Changes at The Blue Duck Tavern. Michael Santoro is joining Executive Chef Brian McBride (pictured) as Chef de Cuisine. He used to be at Manhattan's Boqueria. He's worked in top experimental kitchens, like Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray, England, and at Basque restaurant Mugaritz near San Sebastian. For the BDT's summer menu he's created crispy frog legs and sweetbreads with rhubarb and glazed white asparagus; rack of lamb and confit of breast with chickpea puree and rosemary jus; braised rabbit and homemade pasta with prunes and black olives; smoked and pastrami spiced duck breast with confit of leg as well as homemade gnocchi with marinated porcini and poached egg. read more...

Cesare Lanfranconi - Chef of Ristorante Spezie - 5 May 2008

Cesare Lanfranconi, executive chef of Ristorante Spezie, was born near the mountains in Northern Italy, where his passion was skiing. He decided to cook instead of becoming a ski instructor like his mother as a means of seeing the world. read more...

Jamies Leeds - Owner-chef of Hank's Oyster Bar - 16 Apr 2008

Jamie Leeds is rare among chefs. First, she owns two Hank’s Oyster Bars, one in Dupont Circle and the other in Old Town, Alexandria, with CommonWealth, a gastropub set to open in summer 2008. Plus, she’s a woman. And then there’s the fact that she has no formal culinary training. read more...

Scott Drewno - Chef of The Source by Wolfgang Puck - 14 Apr 2008

At the recent media reception to announce chef and restaurant finalists in this year's Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington awards, journalists and members of the hospitality business were treated to little tastes of the finalists' cuisines. There was a scrum around the table of one of them, Scott Drewno of The Source by Wolfgang Puck. read more...

Nilesh Singhvi - Chef of The Bombay Club - 31 Mar 2008

Bombay Club executive chef Nilesh Singhvi has cooked for Margaret Thatcher, George H.W. Bush and Bill Gates. But with its pale, saffron-colored walls, dark wood, palm fronds and Indian-style chandelier suspended from an ornate recessed ceiling, the Bombay Club it probably wouldn't come as much of a shock to spot the ghost of Rudyard Kipling or Graham Greene tucking into a curry in the corner. read more...

Abdel Hashhoush - Chef of Neyla - 24 Mar 2008

Twice a week, before coming into his restaurant, Neyla chef Abdel Hashhoush squeezes in time for classes in English at the Washington Literary Council. read more...

Ethan McKee - Chef of Rock Creek at Mazza - 17 Mar 2008

The notion of going out to dine nutritiously might seem like a contradiction in terms. But a meal at Rock Creek Mazza isn’t different from a meal in any other fine-dining restaurant — except that you can calculate the nutritional breakdown of your meal if you choose, with the help of a fact list on the back of the menu. read more...

Rodney Scruggs - Chef of The Occidental - 13 Mar 2008

Rodney Scruggs started as a line cook at the Occidental in 1980, when he was 17. He moved on to work with some of the area's top chefs. But now, after nearly two decades, he's back at the venerable restaurant, as executive chef. read more...

Paul Pelt - Chef of the Tabard Inn - 1 Mar 2008

Paul Pelt got his start in the business at a local pizza joint. He began cooking there when the chef failed to show one day, and he joined the Tabard Inn as a line cook in 1992. Today he is executive chef. read more...

Stephen Scott - Chef of Zola - 26 Feb 2008

Stephen Scott is back in town as executive chef at Zola, the restaurant connected with the International Spy Museum. read more...

Christophe Marque - Chef of Cafe du Parc - 13 Feb 2008

If the cost of the Euro is preventing you from traveling to France this summer, get your food fix at Café du Parc. Christophe Marque, whose crispy belly of pork was my favorite winter dish, is focusing on the cuisine of Provence from June 21 to the end of July. Traditional dishes include Salade niçoise, Pissaladière - a tart of caramelized onion, anchovy and olives, and roast lamb chops marinated in herbes de Provence.

When he came from Paris just over a year ago to head the Cafe du Parc, the first thing he had to do, between the lunch and dinner service, was learn English. Now he's fluent and concentrating on bringing France to Washington. read more...

Danny Wells & Scott Weinstein of BlackSalt - 23 Jan 2008

At BlackSalt, Chef Danny Wells and fishmonger Scott Weinstein work as a pair - one finds the fish and the other prepares it. read more...

Tom Power - Owner-chef of Corduroy - 14 Jan 2008

Tom Power's restaurant Corduroy opens in a row house on 9th Street NW at the end of March. This interview took place while it was still located on 12th & K Streets NW in the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. The address changes, but his food philosophy remains the same. read more...

Haidar Karoum - Co-owner-chef of Proof - 4 Jan 2008

When Nora Pouillon, owner/chef of Restaurant Nora, sold the building that housed sister restaurant Asia Nora in late November, fans went into their second bout of mourning. The first came when Asia Nora’s chef, Haidar Karoum, left after seven years at the helm. Now they can celebrate finding him at Penn Quarter's Proof. read more...

Howsoon Cham - Owner-chef of Red Ginger and Cafe Tropé - 22 Dec 2007

December 28 saw the opening of Howsoon Cham's new venture, Café Tropé. When the Gambia native bought Red Ginger, it may have been the same drive that won him a soccer scholarship at Bethany College that contributed to his determination to turn it around in 30 hours without closing. read more...

Peter Schaffrath - Chef of the Hay-Adams Lafayette Room - 16 Dec 2007

Peter Schaffrath celebrates on Christmas Eve so he can cook for guests at the Hay-Adams on Dec. 25. He hasn't spent Christmas Day at home with his family for the last five years. read more...

Hisao Abe - Owner-chef of Kotobuki - 15 Dec 2007

Chef Hisao Abe, who owns Kotobuki on MacArthur Boulevard, learned the art of sushi-making after years of watching, sniffing, tasting. read more...

Yannick Cam - Owner-Chef of Le Paradou - 12 Dec 2007

After 43 years in restaurants, Yannick Cam, owner and chef of Washington’s award-winning Le Paradou, hasn’t seen anyone come out of culinary school ready to function in the business. read more...

Brendan Cox - Chef of Circle Bistro - 29 Nov 2007

Brendan Cox started cooking seriously while part of a college co-op. The school ran a Health Food Cooperative where, instead of living off the meal plan, students could make their own food. “I cooked for myself a lot and got that bug.” read more...

Bob Kiebler - Chef of Morton's - 28 Nov 2007

Bob Kiebler, chef at the downtown branch of the venerable Morton's of Chicago chain, learned his steak skills at the Morton's University - a fresh twist on the role of academe. read more...

Jeff Tunks - Owner-chef of Acadania - 19 Nov 2007

Jeff Tunks and his partners own and run Acadiana, Ceiba, DC Coast and TenPenh. He is executive chef at Acadiana, the most recent addition to his restaurant portfolio. read more...

Vikram Sunderam - Chef of Rasika - 19 Nov 2007

Award-winning chef of London's Bombay Brasserie Vikram Sunderam left it behind for the challenge of launching an Indian restaurant from scratch in the heart of the American capital. read more...

Laurent Merdy - Pastry chef of The Blue Duck Tavern - 19 Nov 2007

Blue Duck Tavern pastry chef Laurent Merdy comes from a restaurant family in northern France. He’s long had an affinity for pastries, but when it comes to other things, “I’m very picky on food,” he says. read more...

Rob Klink - Chef of Oceanaire - 18 Nov 2007

Rob Klink, chef at The Oceanaire Seafood Room, would rather be fishing - but with an eye to conservation. read more...

John Wabeck - when Chef of Firefly - 17 Nov 2007

John Wabeck, now at New Heights, was interviewed when he was the chef at Firefly. He came to cooking by way of Ocean City. read more...

Tony Conte - Chef of The Oval Room - 17 Nov 2007

Antonio Conte worked in four-star restaurants in Manhattan, but he got tired of New York City. read more...

Tim Elliott - Chef of Mie N Yu - 17 Nov 2007

Tim Elliott has climbed a corporate path to his post at Georgetown’s Mie N Yu. His background makes him a perfect fit for a restaurant that serves nearly 2000 guests a week in several dining rooms with different themes. read more...

Katsuya Fukushima - Chef of Minibar & Café Atlántico - 16 Nov 2007

Katsuya Fukushima planned to be a scientist, but instead he has become a chef doing work that he regrets has been dubbed “molecular gastronomy.” read more...

Savino Recine - Owner-chef of Primi Piatti - 16 Nov 2007

Chef and amateur magician Savino Recine says he helped introduce Washington to true Italian food. read more...

Robert Weland - Chef of Poste - 16 Nov 2007

Chef Robert Weland makes his own charcuterie — and more — at his Penn Quarter restaurant, Poste. read more...

Alcione Vinet - Owner-chef of Park Cafe - 16 Nov 2007

In the ‘70s, Alcione Vinet left Pinochet and came to the United States, where he washed dishes, worked in contracting and eventually opened a restaurant that battled to succeed. Today, it’s a fine-dining hot spot. read more...

Bryan Voltaggio - Chef of Charlie Palmer Steak - 16 Nov 2007

Bryan Voltaggio loves the outdoors, but he’s also passionate about
cooking. This interview took place before he left the kitchen at Charlie Palmer Steak to open his own place, Volt Restaurant. read more...

Drew Trautmann - Chef of Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar - 15 Nov 2007

Drew Trautmann focuses on locally sourced foods at Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar in a fashion that reflects the West Coast sensibilities of his dining room and bar. read more...

Jeff Buben - Owner-chef of Vidalia - 11 Nov 2007

Jeffrey Buben started as a dishwasher, made his way to New York City and settled in the District. read more...

Janis McLean - Chef of The Morrison-Clark Inn - 10 Nov 2007

The Morrison-Clark Inn’s Janis McLean was working in business when she decided to become a chef. She started by taking a class at Bethesda’s L’Academie de Cuisine. read more...

Jamie Stachowski - Owner-chef of Restaurant Kolumbia - 10 Nov 2007

Chef Jamie Stachowski learned about curing meat as a child, working in his Polish family’s restaurants. Sadly his Restaurant Kolumbia is now closed. But read this profile and you'll understand why so many people are keeping their fingers crossed he'll be cooking again soon somewhere else. read more...

Joe Raffa - Chef of Oyamel - 10 Nov 2007

Joe Raffa left the U.S. Government Accountability Office to become a chef. He now heads Oyamel, where he serves up to 40 grasshopper tacos a day. read more...

Chris Payton and Casey McQueen - Owner and chefs of The Curry Club - 10 Nov 2007

Chris Payton and Casey McQueen met in an alley behind Payton's restaurant, the Curry Club. McQueen working at Bistro Lepic next door. They’ve been working together since. read more...

Bernard Grenier - Owner-chef of Bistro D'oc - 10 Nov 2007

Bernard Grenier opened Bistro D’Oc after leaving La Miche in Bethesda. read more...

Geoff Tracy - Owner-chef of Chef Geoff's and Lia - 10 Nov 2007

In December 2006, Geoffrey Tracy opened a third restaurant. Five months later, his wife was due to give birth to twins. read more...

Robert Wiedmaier - Owner-chef of Marcel's - 10 Nov 2007

Ask chefs where they like to eat, and Marcel's will be high on their list. read more...

Ruth Gresser - Owner-chef of Pizza Paradiso - 10 Nov 2007

Pizzeria Paradiso’s Ruth Gresser helped popularize Italy's favorite pie using a wood-burning stove to cook pizza in D.C. read more...

Tom Green - Chef at the Kennedy Center - 10 Nov 2007

"I interviewed at a restaurant, as college students do, and on the application I wrote, 'I like to cook.' So they hired me as a chef," says the Executive Chef at the Kennedy Center. read more...

Peter Pastan - Owner-chef of Obelisk and 2Amys - 10 Nov 2007

Peter Pastan fell in love with Italy traveling across the country by train. It shows in the two different styles of his two very different Italian restaurants. read more...

Herbert Kerschbaumer - Owner-chef of Jack's Restaurant & Bar - 9 Nov 2007

Herbert Kerschbaumer opened his Dupont bistro, Jack's, after returning from a two-year honeymoon. read more...

Terri Cutrino - Chef of Jaleo - 9 Nov 2007

Chef Terri Cutrino first got to know Jaleo as a faithful customer when she worked at the AARP, located across the street. read more...

Abdulkader Niori - Chef of Lebanese Taverna - 9 Nov 2007

When Abdulkader Niori came to America from Eritrea at age 14, the owners of Lebanese Taverna took him under their wing. Over the years, he climbed from dishwasher to executive chef. read more...

Santi Zabaleta - Chef of Taberna del Alabardero - 9 Nov 2007

The Spanish government has dubbed Taberna del Alabardero "the best Spanish restaurant outside Spain." This interview was with its executive chef, Santi Sabaleta, who has recently been replaced by Dani Arana. read more...

Fabrice Bendano - Pastry chef of 1789 - 8 Nov 2007

1789 pastry chef Fabrice Bendano began his career at age 16 in a Cannes restaurant. read more...

Phet Schwader - Chef of BLT Steak - 8 Nov 2007

Soulayphet "Phet" Schwader was raised in Kansas on food from his mother’s native Laos. But now he's executive chef at BLT Steak, lauded French chef Laurent Tourondel’s contemporary take on the classic American steakhouse. read more...

Peter Brett - Pastry chef of Circle Bistro - 8 Nov 2007

When Peter Brett, a graduate of Boston University’s graphic design program, discovered his passion for baking might actually earn him a salary, he went back to school and learned to become a professional pastry chef. read more...

Mike Isabella - Chef of Zaytinya - 9 Oct 2007

In March 2007, Mike Isabella started at Zaytinya. In June, the restaurant won a RAMMY award. read more...

Barton Seaver - Owner-chef of Hook - 9 Oct 2007

Chef Barton Seaver has opened his own place, Hook, to serve seafood bought directly from fishermen. No fishermen? No food. read more...

Todd Gray - Owner-chef of Equinox - 9 Oct 2007

Todd Gray is chef at Equinox, and his wife, Ellen Kassoff Gray, is co-owner and general manager. They are one of just a few family teams in all of D. C's fine-dining establishments. read more...

David Ashwell - Chef of Brasserie Beck - 1 Jan 1970

David Ashwell, chef at Robert Wiedmaier's Brasserie Beck, left private dining rooms to return to restaurants. read more...

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