Washington Life Magazine
Washington Life Magazine

The Young and Delicious
Eight of the city’s top chefs – all under the age of forty – reveal what it takes to create good food,
during those intensely hot, blood-boilingly stressful and amazingly sublime fourteen-hour days


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.”
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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