Watch Barton Seaver defend his title against top chefs, live on stage.
Barton Seaver’s childhood in Washington DC was structured around family dinners prepared using fresh ingredients. His parents were both intrepid cooks and so dinner took on the role of entertainment as well as of communion. Barton spent his summers on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where he learned first-hand about the importance of an agrarian ethic. He and his brother would spend the days crabbing, picking vegetables in the garden and then preparing the days work for a family feast.
Barton's culinary experience began in some of DC's popular neighborhood restaurants. After a few years of on the job training he decided to continue his training in New York at the Culinary Institute of America. During his time at the CIA he was able to work in Chicago at Tru and the Ritz Carlton. Following graduation Barton stayed on in Hyde Parkas a graduate teacher under the tutelage of his mentor Corky Clark, teaching both meat and fish fabrication. It was here that he studied as many varieties of fish he could get his hands on and where he developed his appreciation of fish and his technique.
After another stop in New York where he worked at Finch Tavern as Executive Sous Chef under Chef Dan Kish, Barton traveled through Spain and northern Africa. He worked at a small, family-run hotel in southern Spain, where he daily gathered fresh vegetables and herbs from the hotel's garden with the assistance of Esteban, the hotel's trusty burro. Next Barton spent time on the coast of Morocco working with sardine fishermen who used the artisnal methods of generations before. This time away from the hectic restaurant kitchens of the States instilled Barton with a growing appreciation for simple, market-driven food, as well as an early understanding of the global issues facing fishing and farming communities around the world
Barton returned to Washington DC, and joined Chef Jose Andres at his flagship restaurant Jaleo, which specialized in traditional small plates cuisine. Barton next moved on to Café Saint-Ex in 2005, where as Executive Chef he further developed the restaurant's bistro style to include local ingredients and Mediterranean influences. In 2006 he worked with friend and fellow Chef Andres alum Joshua Whigham to open a sister restaurant, Bar Pilar. It was in these two kitchens that Barton developed his belief that we are supported by a single ecology and that a sustainable terrestrial ethic necessitates a sustainable sea ethic of the same conscience.
In April 2007 Barton left to open Hook in Georgetown, a sustainable seafood restaurant featuring local produce. In less than a year Hook was named to Washington Post's Top 50, Washingtonian Magazine's Top 100 and Bon Appétit's Top 10 Eco-Friendly Restaurants. StarChefs.com and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington have both named Barton a Rising Star, and Hook was nominated as Best New Restaurant for 2007 by the RAMW. By reaching people through delicious food in a beautiful setting, Barton found a willing audience for the message of sustainable seafood.
In April of 2008, Barton kept up the pace and opened TackleBox, a casual counter service seafood restaurant based on the famous clam shacks of the New England coast. His menu celebrated the classic dishes of a northern summer while using sustainable seafood and local produce, while also maintaining a reasonable price point that made sustainable options available to a broader clientele.
While a talented chef and certified sommelier, Barton has left restaurants to devote more time to his work in non-profits, sustainability and social justice issues. He sits on the Board of Directors for DC Central Kitchen, works on educational programs with Chefs Collaborative and Blue Ocean Institute, and is a nationally recognized writer and speaker. He has been honored by the Blue Ocean Institute, named a 2008 Seafood Choices Seafood Champion, Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington Rising Star, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a leader in the sustainable seafood movement. He has been featured prominently in major media outlets such as Oprah magazine, Martha Stewart media. As a chef his mission is to educate his colleagues about the ease of using sustainable seafood, as well as offering diners a solution by celebrating the delicious options that also protect our future. As a philanthropist Barton works to increase awareness of the socio-economic factors surround fishing and the communities that depend on a healthy ocean. He lives in Washington DC, where he can often be seen going to the farmer's market on his Vespa when he is not working on his upcoming cookbook.
Stephen Lewandowski’s earthy, elegant cuisine is the hallmark of Tribeca Grill in downtown Manhattan.
Stephen graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked at Manhattan’s Abbey restaurant before moving on to Gotham Bar & Grill and then Fantino at the Ritz Carlton. He spent several years with Ritz Carlton, cooking in various cities. In 1999 he was named executive sous chef for the Peabody Orlando, overseeing all five restaurants for the 1000-room hotel. He joined Tribeca Grill in 2000 and was promoted to executive chef in 2003.
His contemporary American fare reflects creative passion tempered by classical technique: signature dishes include Braised Short Rib with Morels, English Peas and Fava Beans and Poached Maine Lobster with Crispy Sweetbreads.
Tribeca Grill continues to receive many prestigious awards including, the coveted Grand Award from Wine Spectator Magazine every year since 2002
As a manager and mentor, Stephen is often tapped to consult on other Myriad Restaurant Group projects. He is a popular guest instructor on culinary cruises. Along with his staff, he participates in numerous charity events including AIWF’s Days of Taste, a discovery-based program that teaches 4th and 5th grade students how food weaves its way from farm to table.
Chef Deshaies has been Executive Chef, directing and managing Michel Richard Citronelle’s 5 Star menu and food preparation for the past 4 years.
Revealing his outstanding abilities in the culinary arts field, Chef Deshaies has achieved national and international acclaim, including winning the Best Fish Course at the Food and Fun Festival in Iceland, Feb. 2005, and organizing all aspects of the DC Rising Star Chefs Tsunami Benefit, raising over $8,000 for Tsunami victims. Chef Deshaies has prepared and presented fine multiple course dinners for numerous events around the country, including for the James Beard Foundation, Masters of Food & Wine, CA, South Beach Food & Wine Festival, Pebble Beach Wine & Food Festival, The Bon Appetit Saborea Festival in Puerto Rico, among many others. David has styled food for major publications such as Gourmet, Food & Wine, Washingtonian, The Washington Post and more.
Prior to becoming the Executive Chef at Michel Richard Citronelle, Chef Deshaies has worked for several other acclaimed restaurants, such as, La Cote Saint Jacques (a 3 Michelin Stars restaurant in France), Restaurant Ses Jacques (a 1 Michelin Star restaurant in Spain) and Restaurant Pralong (a 4 Star International Relais & Chateaux Guide in France).
As the son of an Army Lieutenant Colonel, Peter Smith, 36, travelled the world at an early age. As a chef, he has incorporated the flavors from his travels to Germany, Hawaii, Tibet and Nepal with his grandfather’s Italian heritage to create a true world cuisine.
Smith “officially” began his culinary career at the Country Club of Fairfax in Virginia, at the age of 14. After three years, Smith moved to Pino’s, then the Carlyle Grand Café. Having learned to love the business, we got his formal training at L’Academie de Cuisine, followed by an externship at the Occidental with Jeffrey Buben. When Buben left to open Vidalia restaurant, Buben invited Smith to join him. There, he worked his way up to Executive Chef. Vidalia received both local and national praise under Smith’s direction in the kitchen, including a James Beard Award in 1999.
On vacation in 2001, Smith tested out his culinary skills by using local products to make dinner for hikers at the Mt. Everest Base Camp at 17,000 feet above sea level..
In the fall of 2006, Smith opened PS 7’s in the ever-growing downtown Penn Quarter area of Washington, DC.
“I appreciate taking the most unusual of pairings visually and creating them mentally,” says Smith. “It often turns into the most delicious of flavor combinations.”
Since his 2005 arrival at the Oval Room, Tony Conte served his unique Modern American cuisine to many of Washington’s most powerful people. Under Conte’s watchful eye, the Oval Room has been named “Top Power Tables of 2007” by Forbes, “Top 50 Restaurants 2007” by Washington Post and one of Washingtonian’s “100 Best Restaurants 2008.” Chef Conte was also named a Rising Star by Starchefs in December of 2006.
Before coming to the nation’s capital, Chef Conte was the executive sous chef at New York’s four-star Jean Georges, the flagship restaurant of famed chef Jean-George Vongerichten. As a rising chef, he also worked as the chef de partie at JoJo, also owned by Vongerichten. At Pesce in Branford, Connecticut, he earned Connecticut Magazine’s “Best New Restaurant 2002” and Taste of Nation’s “Golden Fork Award” for Best Food in Show 2001.
Born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Chef Conte received his A.O.S. Culinary Degree from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Early in his career, he honed his skills at Sole e Luna Ristorante in Westport, the Greenwich Country Club and the Belmont Country Club in Massachusetts.
