Laura Calderone
Laura Calderone, a DC-area native, grew upcooking dinner once a week for her large and busy Polish-Italian family; she attended Boston University with the full intention of attending medical school, but graduated early and decided to enroll in the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY instead. During school she took a brief leave of absence to work at the acclaimed Terra restaurant in Napa under the exceptional Michelin Star Chef Hiro Sone. The experience instilled Calderone with a life-long respect for farmers and the importance of supporting local producers. After graduating she joined Chef Sone’s opening team at Ame in San Francisco, and later complete her stage at three Michelin-starred Quince. Calderone returned to the East Coast to raise her family and began a new career with Occasions Catering, where she cooked President Barack Obama’s first inauguration meal. By 2017 she opened Relish Catering. Laura serves on the board of Nourish Now and on the Advisory Board for FACES (Freeman Assists Community with Extra Support) in Montgomery County.
Allie Cheppa
Allie Cheppa leads the charge at Buzz Bakeshop, a beloved neighborhood bakery where she and her team offer a myriad of sweets, pastries, cakes and so much more. Allie first joined Neighborhood Restaurant Group as Pastry Sous Chef at Buzz Bakeshop in spring 2018, and was promoted to Executive Pastry Chef just months later. Before that, she spent three years at RareSweets Bake Shop, and boasts over 10 years of experience working in local bakeries across DC and Virginia. Allie’s work has been featured in Washingtonian, The Washington Post and Northern Virginia Magazine. Allie has cooked for many farm dinners and is always the first chef to throw her toque in to the line up!
Tony Chittum
After many years working his way up through kitchens, including Elite Cafe in San Francisco, Tony moved to DC to work at newly opened Equinox restaurant under the tutelage of Todd Gray. After serving as executive chef of Notti Bianchi for two years, Chittum joined NRG, where under his guidance, Vermilion restaurant in Old Town Alexandria received numerous accolades including a three-star review from The Washington Post. Chittum has continued his work with NRG, opening the beautiful, award-wining Iron Gate in 2014. Tony is an old friend to an Arcadia and an alum of many many farm dinners.
Joseph Conrad
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The Executive Chef at Oak Steakhouse in Alexandria, Virginia, Joseph has been in the restaurant industry since he was 16 years old. He earned his Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, California. He has an extensive resume in the industry, including five years with the Michael Mina Group at Bourbon Steak in Washington, D.C. as the Executive Sous Chef and Bourbon Steak Los Angeles as the Opening Executive Chef, as well as Crush in Seattle and later RN74, where he was the Chef de Cuisine. Most recently, he was the Executive Sous Chef at The Lafayette, the four-star restaurant in the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C. Joseph joined the opening team at Oak Steakhouse, Alexandria in April of 2019. Joseph currently lives in Montclair, Virginia with his wife and six-year-old twin boys, both Arcadia Farm Campers. This is Joseph's first farm dinner, but he is a star educator at Arcadia Farm Camp!
Matthew Cockrell
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Chef Matthew Cockrell heads the kitchen at Josephine, the classic French bistro new to Old Town, Alexandria. Chef Cockrell has cooked at the region’s top, most beloved French restaurants, including La Chaumiere, Le Diplomate, Mintwood Place and Brasserie Liberte. A native of Vienna, Va., he began working in restaurants at 13. He earned an English degree from East Carolina University, and then decided to pursue his passion: cooking. He earned three culinary degrees from Stratford University and worked under a master butcher. This is Chef Cockrell’s first Arcadia farm dinner, and we are so happy to welcome him in the fold!
Seng Luangrath
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Chef Seng fled her home country of Laos during the Vietnam War; she learned to cook at a refugee camp in Thailand. At the age of twelve, she was the eldest of five and took on the role of caretaker of her four younger siblings in order to support her working mother. In 2009, at the age of 40 she decided to go after her greatest passion, cooking. She took over Padaek (previously Bangkok Golden) in 2010 and in 2014, she opened Thip Khao. This fall, Chef Seng is opening a new Padaek location in South Arlington, and creating a fast casual concept Baan Mae, or Mom's House, in the Shaw DC area. ​She is one of the founders of Lao Food Movement, an initiative to encourage Laotian-Americans to preserve and uplift Lao culture. She is considered the godmother of Laotian cuisine in America amongst her peers. Chef Seng is making her sophomore appearance at the farm dinner, and we are honored to have her back!
Kris Jimenez
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Chef Jimenez, a DC-area native, helped open Osteria Morini in D.C.’s vibrant Navy Yard, and then headed the opening of sister restaurant Nicoletta Italian Kitchen. He is the chef de cucina of both kitchens. This is Chef’s first farm dinner – but not the first for Osteria Morini, which has been a consistent supporter of Arcadia’s Fall Harvest Dinner and Box Social. We are delighted to welcome Chef Jimenez to the field kitchen! d!
Colin McClimans
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Chef and co-owner of Nina May and Opal, Native Washingtonian Colin McClimans began what would be his future vocation at a tender age working the family’s stove with his father, an excellent home cook. He became interested not only in the food, but in restaurants—how they worked, the camaraderie of the kitchen and the team effort. While visiting his grandparents in Ohio each summer, he began working at 14 years old in the kitchen of a local eatery in the evening, and a career was born. The former college lacrosse champion served as Chef de Cuisine of Equinox Restaurant for over 6 years. There he helped owner Chef Todd Gray open multiple large projects including Salamander Resort, Manna, Milk + Honey, and a restaurant in the Museum of the Bible. Colin was named Zagat’s 30 under 30 in 2015 for his work in the industry. This is Colin's first appearance at the Arcadia Farm Dinner and we are jazzed to have him.
Reid Shilling
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A Baltimore native, Reid Shilling graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 2012, and into a job in the kitchen at chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Yountville, CA, where he worked nearly every position. He returned to the East Coast in 2015 and helped open Jeremiah Langhorne’s opening team at The Dabney, where he soon became sous chef. He left The Dabney to open Shilling Canning Company, his first solo restaurant concept. Inspired by his family’s business of the same name that operated in Finksburg, MD from 1935 – 1958, Shilling Canning Company opened in July 2019 in the Yards Park area of Washington, D.C., along the Anacostia River waterfront. The 75-seat restaurant is Chef Reid Shilling’s tribute to the seasonal flavors of the Chesapeake region, and features a frequently rotating menu, heavily influenced by each week’s intake from local farmers and what is sourced from the restaurant’s expansive outdoor garden. This is chef's second Arcadia Farm Dinner, and we are thrilled he agreed to cook for us again!
Jarrad Silver
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Jarrad entered the kitchen from the “front of the house.” Hired to be a server at Graffiato, Jarrad showed up hours early for his shift to pick herbs and grate parmesan cheese. Making the move into the kitchen full time, Silver helped open 8 restaurants over the next 7 years with the team, working his way up the ranks to Executive Chef. In 2018, Silver took a job as Executive Chef for Neighborhood Restaurant Group, running their kitchen programs at Birch and Barley restaurant and Churchkey Bar, and fine-tuning his cooking style; mixing his Jewish upbringing with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, and supporting local farms in the area, including Arcadia. When 2020 turned the restaurant world on its head, Jarrad launched Silver and Sons BBQ from his home in Kensington, Md., blending Mediterranean cuisine with traditional American barbecue. By 2021 his business was on the road, feeding the DC suburbs from the Silver and Sons food truck, fired by hickory and oak wood Silver cuts down himself. Jarrad is making his second appearance at an Arcadia farm dinner; it is wonderful to have him back!
Cable Smith
At age 26, Cable left his engineering job to attend culinary school in Austin, Texas. After culinary school, he packed up to travel and learn from some of the country's best chefs including Richard Blais (Juniper & Ivy), Ryan Smith & Hugh Acheson (Empire State South, Staplehouse), and Ned Elliot (Foreign & Domestic). Since moving to Washington D.C. in 2016, Cable is the Executive Chef of the Michelin Bib Gourmand winning restaurant, The Royal as well as the Executive Chef / Partner of Lulu’s Winegarden. Cable has participated in multiple Arcadia Farm Dinners, and we are so excited to have him back.
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Kevin Tien
Nationally celebrated as one of Food & Wine magazine’s 10 “Best New Chefs,” RAMW chef of the year and four-times James Beard nominee, Tien co-founded Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate to raise awareness of violence against Asian American and support community organizations. Tien is a partner in the Doki Doki Group, with chefs Judy Beltrano, Alan Vo, and Susan Bae. Look for the Doki Doki BBQ at the Bryant Street Food Hall in Northeast DC and Doki Doki Sushi at The Heights Food Hall in Chevy Chase, and a potential reboot of the acclaimed Moon Rabbit, Tien's love-letter to his heritage as a first-generation Asian-American. Kevin is a farm dinner favorite and we are delighted he volunteered again!
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