2023 Chefs
HEARTS DELIGHT Q&A
Q: Your version of Mount Rushmore would include whose faces?
A: Dwight Eisenhower, Crazy Horse, Mother Teresa, and a blank face for all the everyday heroes that make the world slightly better with small actions of grace and humility.
Q: What is your current ingredient obsession?
A: Not sure I am obsessed, but Vadouvan Curry seems to have a pretty high place right now. I think I am just obsessed with the idea Spring is coming.
Q: What was the turning point in your career?
A: I have had a few. The biggest was working at Sierra Mar at The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur in California. I think Craig Von Foerster is one of the more underrated chefs. He taught me how to cook with all my senses and opened up the sense of intellectual curiosity about my craft; like going from Black and White television to HD Technicolor.
Washington, DC
Featured: Thursday Private Dinner Series
Adam Barnett grew up surrounded by family that held deep roots in the lands of southern and central Ohio. As a child, he traveled to Nova Scotia, Canada every summer to spend time with his maternal family, where an early appreciation for the land and sea developed. Years later, while attending Ohio State University, Barnett took a job working in an Italian Trattoria and soon discovered his love of the kitchen.
After moving to Aspen, Colorado and working days at a French Bistro and evenings at an American Steakhouse, Adam decided to formalize his education at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont. Here he was able to study with highly-talented chef instructors as well as acclaimed guest chef Jean-Michel Bouvier from the Michelin Starred restaurant, L’Essential, in Chambery, France.
Taking to the road again, Barnett moved to Big Sur, California to the Mobil Four Star resort restaurant, Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn. Under the guidance of Chef Craig Von Foerster, Barnett honed his skills under a world-class chef in a dynamic and creative kitchen.
After spending a stint in Los Angeles, he returned to Ohio and eventually landed in Washington, Virginia at The Inn at Little Washington. Here, he pursued a life-long goal of working for one of the great pioneers of refined American cuisine: Chef Patrick O’Connell.
Returning to city life, Barnett opened the Liberty Tavern, and soon after found himself in the kitchen of Westend Bistro as Sous Chef. After three years under acclaimed Chef Eric Ripert, Barnett returned to Arlington, Virginia; taking the helm of Eventide as Executive Chef. During his tenure at Eventide, Barnett was able to express his culinary voice through refined, contemporary French-American cuisine, and spearheaded menu design and development for the rebrand of the lounge into the OddBar.
Happy to once again call Westend Bistro home, Barnett is thrilled to work alongside General Manager Ryme Lansari and the accomplished Westend Bistro culinary team. In his position as Chef de Cuisine, Barnett looks forward to upholding the restaurant’s strong tradition of refined, skillfully-crafted cuisine, while offering creative new dishes that showcase his unique strengths.