Former Sous Chef for the White House takes the helm for Ridgewells’ award-winning culinary program

Ridgewells Catering, one of the region’s largest and most celebrated caterers, recently announced the appointment of Kashif Browne as its new Executive Chef.

Chef Browne formerly serviced as the Executive Sous Chef for Ridgewells during a 6-year tenure, having left in 2017 to Sous Chef at the White House. After spending the last two years gaining tremendous experience catering for the White House, State dinners, and the first family, Kashif returned to Ridgewells in September with a fresh culinary vision and new contemporary menus for Fall and the 2019 Holiday season.

“We are so excited to have Chef Browne back with Ridgewells,” says Susan Lacz, CEO & Principal of Ridgewells. “Kashif has an authentic and creative point of view which stems from a wealth of unique experiences. His dishes and flavor profiles are thoughtful and vibrant, and his experience in catering, with Ridgewells in particular, makes him the perfect Chef to lead our culinary program.

A graduate of the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Washington, Kashif completed a work study at the renowned Ristorante Zeppelin in Orvieto during his education. He’s cooked in some of the country’s most respected restaurants and kitchens in New York and Las Vegas, including the James Beard house. He’s also studied under several well-known and influential chefs to whom he credits much of his skill and success, including Angelo Sosa, Chris Beischer, Christophe Tanneua-Kervan, Alicia Stewart, and Lorenzo Polegri.

Chef Browne was born in Guyana, where he spent his adolescence playing cricket and other sports, and cooking alongside his mother in the kitchen. It was there he developed a love of humble ingredients and bold flavors at an early age, and he carries those memories as inspiration for his culinary philosophy today.

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“While much of my training has been focused on French technique, as well as Asian flavor profiles, I also love to have fun and innovate,” says Chef Browne. “There have been moments when I’ve been able to infuse some of my own story to classic dishes by adding a touch of Guyanese or Caribbean flavor, and I think those end up feeling very honest and successful to me. I love catering because it really allows me to explore and play with very diverse cuisine. At the end of the day, it’s all about using the best ingredients and just creating each dish with purpose and passion.”

Ridgewells offers a special holiday menu between November 11th and December 31st, available for both pickup and delivery.

By Cathy Barrow, Photography by Jennifer Cubas

Styling by Elizabeth Duncan Events and flowers by Philippa Tarrant

There’s nothing old school about this holiday tradition

By 5pm on December 24, Washington’s office doors have long clicked shut. Reagan National Airport begins to recover from the overflows of members of Congress and their staff who have fled town. Many expats will be gone.

One cadre of Washington residents will spend the holidays here because home is somewhere around the globe (and a plane ticket is not in their personal economic recovery plan). But for many more of us, here’s no place we’d rather be. We love the quiet of holiday streets emptied of the masses, our nation’s Capitol bathed in winter light. Perhaps Christmas Eve is just another day. Yet, there is an undeniable celebratory twinkle in the air.

Rather than press a virtual nose against the glass while forking cold takeout from a cardboard container, savvy Christmas “orphans” plan a celebration with their Framily—the friends they love, the family they choose—and together they make a new tradition. While some of those gatherings include a meal from a home kitchen, many opt to spend the holiday at festive restaurant tables.

Around the city, there are spectacular options for holiday meals. French bistro Le Diplomate offers a Christmas Eve menu. On the 23rd, DGS Deli repeats the Chinese-Jewish deli mashup with guest chefs from around the city. And Osteria Morini Pastry Chef Alex Levin serves sufganiyot for Hanukkah.

Since 2011, Chef Fabio Trabocchi has served up “an indulgence menu” based on the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes at his downtown restaurant Fiola, recently awarded one Michelin star. The Feast is also served at Casa Luca and Fiola Mare. The meal reflects Trabocchi’s native Italy, where there is a long tradition of a seafood feast on Christmas Eve and, in his case, seafood on the table every holiday.

“It is the essence of celebration: caviar, lobster, black truffles, oysters,” he said. “We repeat those items every year but in brand new executions.”

Served on Christmas Eve, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is a spectacular array of seafood dishes traditional to the Italian table. Cookbook author Domenica Marchetti (Preserving Italy, HMH) parses the details: “Italians always had seafood for Christmas Eve—numerous types. My mother was born in Italy and had never heard of the idea of counting the number of fishes. It’s more of an Italian-American custom to count seven—or, in some places 13—fish.”

As a young chef in Italy, Trabocchi might have enjoyed these meals in restaurants, but it is infinitely more common to feast with family and that is the spirit with which he infuses his menu. It’s celebratory, beautiful and filled with opportunities to dazzle.

The first year, Chef Trabocchi’s menu honored each of the seven fish, but diners cried “uncle!” too soon, leaving some food languishing. The following year, he reworked the menu to express the seven in five exquisite dishes.

From the briny oysters served atop a perforated ceramic tower, to a plump Maine scallop nestled in a puff pastry shell topped with a perfect disc of black truffle, to the buttery seared foie gras and lobster poached in Barolo, every element feels like a gift.

EDC had a chance to preview Fiola’s 2016 Feast of the Seven Fishes menu. If you can’t get your Framily there this year (reservations fill up quickly), here are four recipes to add to your own holiday table.

Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu

from Fiola’s Chef Fabio Trabocchi

A Winter’s Tale (Holiday Punch)*

Shigoku Oysters & Prosecco Zabaglione

Ahi Tuna Crudo Puttanesca*

Baked Maine Scallops & Winter Black Truffle

Gnocchi Crab & Caviar*

Risotto, Langoustines, Sea Urchins

Lobster, Foie Gras & Barolo

White Chocolate Panettone Bread Pudding*