Ah, professional cooking. “It’s a
young person’s game,” chef, author
and culinary adventurer Anthony
Bourdain has said. Indeed, despite
this town’s predilection for age over beauty, a
flock of talented young chefs
has descended upon the capital,
making it one of the country’s
hottest dining scenes.
“D.C. isn’t as stringent and
crazy a dining town as New York,”
says Barton Seaver, executive
chef and partner at Hook (3241
M St. NW), “but young chefs are
given a chance to make some
headlines.” Seaver, 28, has certainly
attracted the spotlight at his chic
Georgetown restaurant, which
serves responsibly sourced seafood
and local products: “The way
Americans eat is changing. It’s a
new form of environmentalism.”
Local products also play a
significant role at the Francomodern
CityZen (1330 Maryland
Ave. SW), where executive
chef Eric Ziebold, 35, has been
inspired by Amish-raised shoats,
or baby pigs (the tender meat is
“to die for,” he says), which arrive
whole. Ziebold strives to use the
animal from nose to tail. “Because
I’m younger, guests assume my
food will be hyper-modern,” he
says. “But I have a reverence for
traditions.” Still, the long hours – not to mention
in-house butchering – are demanding. “Cooking,
breaking down pigs – this is physical work, very
taxing,” he says.
“It’s like being an athlete,” says Haidar Karoum,
33, chef and co-owner of Proof (775 G St NW), a sleek wine-centric restaurant with fresh,
modern fare. “Eventually, knees start to go.” For
these chefs, this means striving for success early.
“Eventually, it’s more about teaching other people
to cook,” says Ethan McKee, 30, chef at the healthy,
“Eventually, it’s more about teaching other people
to cook,” says Ethan McKee, 30, chef at the healthy,
environmentally conscientious
eatery Rock Creek. (4917
Elm St., Bethesda, Md.) “Once
you become a chef, the important
thing is to become a good manager,
organizer and teacher.” It also means
developing your own cooking style
says Nico Amroune, 38, chef at
Teatro Goldoni (1909 K St.
NW). “To be successful, you have
to be yourself.”
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Though only 38, Cathal
Armstrong, chef and owner of
Restaurant Eve (110 S. Pitt
St., Alexandria) – which features
elegant, regional American
cuisine – and The Majestic
and Eamonn’s A Dublin
Chipper, has already stepped into
the role of mentor. “When you act
as a good leader, people will follow
you,” he says. His executive chef at
The Majestic (911 King St.,
Alexandria), Shannon Overmiller,
31, is grateful for his guidance.
“I’ve learned the proper ways in all
aspects of the business,” she says.
For these young chefs, success
comes with a price: a lack of
personal life. James Muir, 30,
regional executive chef of Rosa Mexicano
(575 7th St. NW) says, “There are a lot of restaurant
industry relationships. I guess we’re the only people
who understand each other.”
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