Dinner With Chef Cathal Armstrong

Join John Marshall Bank’s Tina Townsend as they sponsor a dinner with renowned DC chef, Cathal Armstrong, to support DC nonprofit Roots for Life, founded by Executive Director Rhonda Watson. The dinner, will feature 5 courses, all prepared by Chef Armstrong, along with wine pairings and a champagne reception. Ticket sales will directly support Roots for Life and their mission to educate and empower communities to thrive by eradicating food deserts and food insecurity.

Our host, local Chef Cathal has cooked for two sitting presidents, once for President Bush and first lady Laura at a private dinner in a friend’s home, and the other when President Obama and first lady Michelle celebrated their anniversary at Restaurant Eve.

This Dublin native Cathal Armstrong is an eight-time James Beard Award-nominated chef and co-founder of nine Washington D.C. area restaurants and bars. In 2011, he was honored as a "Champion of Change" by the Obama White House. Food & Wine named Armstrong one of our 50 Hall of Fame Best New Chefs in 2015.

Cathal Armstrong's began his professional culinary journey as a waiter turned pinch-hitting cook at a Dublin pizzeria. By age 19, he had ditched his college studies to pursue a full-time career as a chef, eventually moving to Washington D.C. in 1990.

Armstrong honed his craft in the kitchens of New Heights, Gabriel, Vidalia, and Bistro Bis before embarking on his first personal venture, Restaurant Eve, in 2004. Building on the resounding success of Restaurant Eve, he co-founded The Eat Good Food Group with his wife, Meshelle, expanding his holdings to include Dublin chipper Eamonn's, speakeasy PX, epicurean food hall Society Fair, American seafood restaurant Hummingbird, pan-Asian restaurant Kaliwa, and Irish pub Maddie and Eddie's.

National Magazines have featured Armstrong’s commitment to culinary excellence and Irish “farm to table” style in prominent stories in Oprah, Food and Wine, Cookie, Parents, Southern Living & Martha Stewart. The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC World News, NY Times, and The Irish Times have taken note of his culinary prowess and his dedication to ending childhood obesity.

Armstrong is a leader in the local sustainable food movement, recognized by Washingtonian magazine with its Green Giant Award and with the National Restaurant Association's Neighborhood Community Award.