Gayout - Travel Guide - Endof the Year Review, October 26, 2005

Rising Chefs 2005

André Gayot—who with his friends, Henri Gault and Christian Millau, invented the term "Nouvelle Cuisine"in the early '70s—has been directing sophisticated travelers to the world's best restaurants, hotels, shops, sightseeing and cultural attractions for more than 40 years. This expertise provided a foundation for the Gayot guides (originating in 1981) and website, which have served as a serious, professional resource on dining and restaurants for an international readership in search of the best.

Zakary Pelaccio, Richard Blais, Cathal Armstrong, Josef Centeno and Martin Heirling fall in our "almost famous" category. We celebrate the tremendous talent of these young chefs and predict that they are the rising stars who will ignite the culinary scene in years to come. Look out, these five promise to stir things up!

Cathal Armstrong’s upbringing in Ireland, supplemented by exposure to European culinary traditions during childhood travels to Spain, Italy and especially France, inform the American cuisine he prepares at this Alexandria, Virginia, standout. Already a young restaurateur in his native Dublin, Armstrong moved stateside where he refined his skills in a handful of high-profile DC kitchens, including Gabriel and Bistro Bis. With Restaurant Eve, Armstrong and wife-partner Meshelle Armstrong, who designed the restaurant, have created a showcase for his inspired cooking, either via his Chef’s Tasting Room or the more informal Bistro. We applaud Armstrong’s breakthrough success, and hope Virginians know how lucky there are indeed.