Patrick O’Connell

Patrick O’Connell, a native of Washington, DC, is a self-taught chef who pioneered a refined, regional American cuisine in the Virginia countryside. His alliance with local farmers and artisanal producers was an adaptation born of necessity more than 30 years ago when nothing but milk was delivered to the tiny town of “Little” Washington, VA (pop. 158). Long before the farm to table movement had a name, he began cultivating fruitful relationships with his neighbors — many of whom have a strong connection to the land and a heritage of self sufficiency.

O’Connell has been referred to as “the Pope of American Cuisine”. His orientation is different from most chefs today primarily because he considers himself to be a restaurateur and as the title implies, his goal is to actually restore and heal people – the preparation and presentation of food being but a single element in the process. Selecting The Inn at Little Washington as one of the top ten restaurants in the world, Patricia Wells of The International Herald Tribune hails O’Connell as “a rare chef with a sense of near perfect taste, like a musician with perfect pitch.”

Both O’Connell and The Inn at Little Washington have enjoyed enormous national and international recognition. The Inn became America’s first 5 Star country house hotel and the first establishment in the Mobil Travel Guide’s history to ever receive two 5 Star Awards-one for its restaurant, the other for its accommodations. The Inn also received AAA’s highest accolades: two 5 Diamond Awards and is rated number one in all categories year after year by the Washington D.C. Zagat Restaurant Survey. O’Connell and The Inn have won five awards from the James Beard Foundation including Restaurant of the Year in 1993, Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic Region and the prestigious Outstanding American Chef Award for 2001. O’Connell was one of the original inductees into “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America” and is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate Degree in the Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University.