Cheese Plate - "Tête de Moine"

Cathal Armstrong, Chef and Co-Owner of four-star rated Restaurant Eve (110 S. Pitt Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 703.706.0450, www.restauranteve.com) was born into a family with a passion for food.  A Best Mid-Atlantic Chef nominee by the James Beard Foundation in 2009, honored as both Food & Wine magazine's "10 Best New Chefs 2006" and Food & Wine magazine's "Top 50 Best New Chefs" in 2008, and Best Chef Award Winner by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington DC in 2007, Cathal (silent "t"), a native Dubliner, grew up in a family unlike any other in Dublin at the time; they had a fruit and vegetable garden, ate plenty of garlic and had their own travel business.  Through their family travels, Cathal was exposed to many different countries, cultures and cuisines.  According to Armstrong, "My father is a natural, a great cook."  As they traveled to neighboring European countries, Cathal was introduced to the wealth of the food world, as well as being educated in the four languages he now speaks today: English, French, Spanish, and his native Irish.

From the mountains of Spain to the piazzas of Italy is where Cathal developed an appreciation of gastronomy.  However, it was in France, at the tender age of seven, that Cathal began his annual student exchange and his food curriculum for life.  Each summer, he lived with the same family, the Boudains', returning to the truffle farms, peasant food and local vineyards.  Those influences taught Cathal the importance of fresh produce, the value of animals and respect for the land.

At the age of 20, he and two partners opened The Baytree, a fine dining restaurant in the Dublin suburbs.  Two years' tenure and a desire to learn more of his craft led him to America.  Cooking school may have been in his future, but a quick stopover in the Nation's Capitol headed the agenda.  Once in Washington and befriended by great chefs, he would stay ‘for just a while.'  For 11 years, Cathal moved his way through various top kitchens gaining experience, which caused the dining public and press alike to take notice of the new talent who emerged from Ireland.

It was his time spent at a restaurant called Cities, where he met his wife, business partner and muse, Meshelle Armstrong.  Together, they conceived a project that brought them to Virginia, a state where producers and farmers are plentiful and where the lifestyle of shopping for food was similar to ‘home.' 

At Restaurant Eve, Armstrong presents his version of elegant, yet straightforward food, sourcing the highest quality ingredients to create his regional American cuisine combined with influences of his youth.  "Growing up in our house, most everything we ate came straight from the garden", explains Armstrong.  "Our food went right from the earth to the plate, maintaining their original flavors. My father would dig potatoes from our garden, boil them and serve them to me with just a bit of salt and butter....It was food for the angels."

Cathal's mission to his children, as well as to his restaurant is to provide real, ingredient-based food.  Through his menus, he educates.  Armstrong encourages his guests to buy from sustainable organic farmers, to be seasonally specific in their buying and to be mindful of what is used in the production and growth process of these ingredients, so as to not add anything harmful to the body.