HALF DOZEN CHEFS STAR AT VILLAGE GALA
Published on 8/30/2016
HALF DOZEN CHEFS STAR AT VILLAGE GALA
Bring your curiosity and sense of culinary delight with you to the Foggy Bottom West End Village Gala Taste of the Neighborhood. And oh what a taste it will be.
West End Star Chef Ris Lacoste is not only bringing her own locally sourced, sustainable food, but she is also serving as village culinary advisor. So far, FBWE Village's Gala will feature six Star Chefs. Each featured chef will appear and speak briefly from the Gala's podium. They will plate and serve their tasting dish.
Joining Lacoste will be chefs from Campono, Rasika, the newly opened Kingbird at the Watergate, and Westend Bistro at the Ritz-Carlton. And let's not forget the desserts that Captain Cookie will provide.
Tracy O'Grady is Campono's star chef. Campono specializes in family comfort food including pizza and gelato. Grady's decades long DC career has included mentoring other chefs. Her first restaurant was Willow in Arlington. In 2001, she represented the U.S. at the Bocuse d'Or International Cooking Competition in Lyon, France.
James Beard Award winner Vikram Sunderam from Rasika is another of our Star Chefs for the FBWE Village Gala. Sunderam won the prestigious James Beard Award as Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2014. Before his decade plus career at Rasika, Sunderam was a chef in London for eight years before being wooed to DC for Rasika.
Ris Lacoste is DC's own Iron Chef contestant and the culinary advisor for the Village Gala. Named DC's Chef of the year in 1999, Lacoste trained in Paris, participated in openings of District restaurants such as Vidalia and was executive chef of Georgetown's celebrated 1789 restaurant before opening her own award-winning restaurant.
Michael Santoro is Executive Chef of the Kingbird at the newly reopened Watergate Hotel. His decade long career took him to six countries including London and Spain. In the U.S., Santoro had his own restaurant in Philadelphia and was chef at DC's Blue Duck Tavern. Watergate recruited him from Andaz 5th Avenue in New York City.
Alvin Dela Cruz, the Chef de Cuisine at the Westend Bistro, grew up watching Celebrity Chef Ming Tsai on East Meets West. He made the decision to attend culinary school after a brief period of studying computer graphics. Dela Cruz was Restaurant Chef at The Conservatory of The Ritz Carlton, Half Moon Bay where he developed creative, seasonal dishes showcasing his culinary talent.
Kirk Francis owns Captain Cookie & the Milkman. He is bringing mouthwatering desserts, some of the best cookies there are. Captain Cookie says, "It is saving the world one cookie at time." His cookie store is on Pennsylvania Ave; three cookie trucks wander the DC metropolitan area.
The Gala will include an open bar featuring white and sparkling wine, beer, juices and soft drinks.
The FBWE Village Gala is the village's major fundraising event. Individual tickets to the Gala are $95 (of which $65 can be eligible as a charity deduction for tax purposes). Salon tickets are $75 each (of which $45 can be eligible as a charity deduction for tax purposes). There will also be active and silent auctions.
FBWE Village is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit volunteer membership organization that provides services and social activities to help neighbors live independently for the long term.