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Chef

Culinary: Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
  Book This Career Mentorship
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Do you want to be a Chef?

Are you interested not only in the preparation of good food, but in all the details that bring the food to the table? Do you believe if you have a passion for something, hard work and long hours are a fair exchange in pursuit of that passion? Are you a good leader, a team player and an astute business person? These are some of the characteristics of a good restaurateur.

Learn more about what it takes to become a restaurateur on a VocationVacations® career mentorship with award-winning chef, Cathal Armstrong. Chef Armstrong will “serve up” two days of insights, advice and hands-on experience at his four-star, highly acclaimed Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington D.C..

Cathal Armstrong’s father instilled a love of good food and travel in his son. His job as a tour operator provided extensive travel opportunities for his family, and his love of cooking brought beautifully prepared and unique dishes to the dinner table. “We used to laugh and say probably no one else in Ireland was having what we were having for dinner,” remembers Cathal.

However, his dad’s love of cooking did not wear off on Cathal….at least not for a while. Cathal went on to study computer programming in college. “But, I hated it,” he laughs. When some friends who owned a restaurant asked Cathal if he could help out as a dishwasher, he decided to quit college and take the job. “But there was no consideration of my getting into the restaurant business.”

Fate intervened when a member of the kitchen staff became ill, and Cathal was asked to help out. Then, Cathal and his father decided to open their own restaurant. “For the ten months the restaurant was open, I served as general manager and learned everything you shouldn’t do in operating a restaurant,” he laughs.

After closing the restaurant, Cathal moved to the Washington, D.C. area. He initially went to work, quite naturally, for an Irish pub and then moved on to become a line cook at a neighboring restaurant. “I realized then I wanted to pursue becoming a chef and began a self-imposed apprenticeship to learn the craft,” Cathal explains.

Eventually, he landed the job as sous chef at the well-known Vidalia Restaurant, and then became the top chef at Bistro Bis where his clientele included Muhammad Ali, Sheryl Crow, Ted Kennedy and Julia Child. The next step was to open his own restaurant.

Cathal and his wife Meshelle’s goal was to open a restaurant that would serve good, simple, elegant American food made from top local ingredients. Restaurant Eve, named after their daughter, opened in 2004 and soon earned outstanding recognition. Cathal received the Rising Culinary Star Award presented by the area restaurant association; was named by Food & Wine in 2006 as one of the ten best new chefs in the country; has been nominated three times for a James Beard Award; and was awarded a four-star rating for Restaurant Eve by the Washington Post Magazine….just a few of the honors bestowed on Cathal. Today, Cathal and Meshelle also own another restaurant, Eammon’s a Dublin Chipper, and manage the Majestic Café, all within five blocks of Restaurant Eve.

Restaurant Eve offers two unique dining experiences in separate rooms, The Chef’s Tasting Room, featuring five, seven and nine course prix fixe tasting menus, and The Bistro with more of a neighborhood feel, serving dishes like bouillabaisse, braised short ribs and salt baked prawns. With three menus available, diners have more 70 dishes from which to choose.

A commitment to sourcing the best ingredients local farmers can provide in pursuit of excellence remains at the core of Cathal’s menus. He purchases his ingredients from local, sustainable, organic farmers ever mindful of preserving the environment and the cycle of nature. “Our priority is to use the best ingredients in our food. The bonus is, by using these ingredients, the planet and our environment benefit by reducing the use, for example, of fossil fuels, refrigerants, pesticides and fertilizers.”

Cathal has a staff of 70 employees and equates the restaurant business to a competitive sport. “It is really a team effort. I tell my staff, just like in the Olympics, you have to train hard to win the gold medal,” he says. With 20 years in the business, Cathal still works six days a week, 14-15 hours a day. But he loves it. “It is thrilling. I get an adrenaline high when someone says they have just eaten the best meal of their life.” But being a good chef does not always guarantee success. “I have known a lot of good chefs who don’t make it because they have no business sense.”

While on your Restaurateur VocationVacations® career mentorship with Chef Cathal Armstrong at Restaurant Eve, activities will include some or all of the following:
  • Work in a 4-star kitchen including food prep, cost management, staffing/service, etc. according to the Brigade de Cuisine
  • Manage front-of-the-house staff
  • Trail service staff and manager during service
  • Learn finer points of 4 star service
  • Plan and write contracts for a private party
  • Take and confirm reservations
  • Meet, greet and seat guests (not as easy at it sounds)
  • Review how to market and create media
  • Overview the purveyor and distributor processes for both food and beverage
  • Learn about how to create a stellar wine and cocktail list
The Restaurateur VocationVacations® career mentorship with Chef Cathal Armstrong at Restaurant Eve, includes:
  • Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a restaurateur
  • The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post- VocationVacations career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job coming to reality
  • Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on Mentor's availability

Price: $1849 Per Person

Book This Career Mentorship



Suggested Accommodations

Morrison House     

Hilton - Old Town Alexandria
(Not included in the price of the VocationVacations® holiday)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:
Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:
Each requested date for a VocationVacation is 100% dependent upon the mentor’s approval of dates.  Each Vocationer is required to sign a liability release stating that they are 18 years or older, 21 years or older if the VocationVacation involves the production or serving of alcohol.  Full payment of the VocationVacation is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacation cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases.  Grounded Nomads, LLC dba VocationVacations encourages all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling.