Battling Chefs

Victor Albisu

BLT Steak

With a quiet consistency and explosive energy, Victor Albisu assumes the role of Executive Chef at BLT Steak in the Nation’s Capitol.  Since December 2007, Chef Albisu aims to alter the status quo in the District and re-imagine the American steakhouse.  And he is on the right track: Washingtonian magazine honored BLT Steak with a three-star review in February 2009 and continues to herald top honors.

From early on, Chef Victor Albisu knew the impact of an exquisite meal.  As a young child, his grandfather once cooked him an expertly prepared salmon, so good he ate the foil it was wrapped in.  Before the meal began, his grandfather said to him, "You’ll never forget this salmon."  And he never has.  It was at that moment he understood the true meaning of a memorable dining experience. Combining family history with world-renowned training has become the mark of this talented chef.

Albisu has cooked in a professional kitchen since the age of seven and was training as a butcher by his 12th birthday.  Following generations before him, Albisu developed a love (cultivated by his family) for the culinary arts.  His culinary journey has led him to such prestigious establishments as Michelin three-star restaurant L’Arpege in Paris, and Marcel’s in Washington, DC. Most recently, he was the Chef de Cuisine at the Contemporary Latin American restaurant, Ceiba, in the District downtown. His passion and dedication to the industry serve as fodder for greatness in his kitchen.

A true Washingtonian, Chef Albisu uniquely combines extensive knowledge of the tastes and bounty of the District with a sophisticated appreciation of his rich Cuban and Peruvian heritage and global travels.  His combined passion for flavors and desire to bring his world travels into his cooking, Chef Albisu uses Castillo do Tabernas, an exotic olive oil produced from the finest olives in Spain’s only desert.  Currently the oil is only imported to a few select cities in America, but with his commitment to quality, Chef Albisu infuses his dished with the delicate oil to elevate his creations and provide patrons with an atypical experience.

Graduating from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu School in Paris, in 2001 where he received his basic, intermediate and superior diplomas in Cuisine, Pastry and Wine, Chef Albisu is able to intimately tap into the French roots of BLT Restaurant Group while adding a dash of spice lent by his Cuban and Peruvian family. Specifically, his immersion in the distinctive meat culture of South America educated this young chef to the varied and honored art of the butcher; an invaluable skill he brings to this bistro steakhouse.

Will Artley

Evening Star Cafe

Will Artley is the Executive Chef of the Evening Star Café, a modern American bistro located between Old Town and Crystal City in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Artley was raised in a military family, thus allowing him to travel the world and realize his passion for cooking along the way. Prior to enrolling in cooking school at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, Artley delighted in the opportunity to stage at some of the greatest restaurants in New York City, including Danube and Jean Georges.

While at the CIA, Artley utilized his time wisely, completing a stage at Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit restaurant, and fulfilling an externship with CIA graduate Seth Bixby Daugherty at D'Amico Cucina, both in Minneapolis. It was under Daugherty, a Food & Wine Magazine Top 10 Chef of 2005, that Artley says he learned to respect food, and to use the freshest possible ingredients in his cooking.

Upon graduation in 2003, Artley was quickly hired by the legendary Bob Kinkead in Washington, DC to help open his newest restaurant, Colvin Run Tavern, located in Tysons Corner, Va. Artley also served as a line cook at Chef Kinkead’s eponymous restaurant in the District, Kinkead’s, as well as at Indebleu and Butterfield 9 before he was tapped by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group in 2005. Artley served as sous-chef at the ever-popular Evening Star Café for two years, after which time he was promoted to Executive Chef of the Alexandria destination restaurant, where he has headed the kitchen ever since.

Inspired by the region’s abundance of locally farmed ingredients and artisanal purveyors, Will’s cooking tends to center on deceptively simple preparations and robust, seasonal flavors. The changing menus of the Evening Star reflect his passion for refined American comfort food based on the finest products the market has to offer.

Throughout his career, Artley has participated in several prestigious events. In 2003 and 2006, he was invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York along with his mentor, Daugherty. In February 2008, Artley was selected as one of eight chefs to participate in the White House guest chef program, where he prepared a coursed luncheon for 80 cabinet members and commissioned officers.

Will can be found cooking most nights at the Evening Star Café, which is part Alexandria’s Neighborhood Restaurant Group. Its siblings include Planet Wine
Vermilion, Tallula, Eat Bar, Rustico, Star Catering and Buzz Bakery.

Scott Drewno

The Source by Wolfgang Puck

Scott Drewno was raised in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes wine region, a rural area known for its vineyards and its family-owned farms.  Watching his mother turn fresh, seasonal produce from local farm stands into bubbling pies and cobblers first piqued his interest in cooking and planted the seed for Drewno’s culinary ambition. 

Drewno joined the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group in 1998.  He started as a line cook at Chinois in Las Vegas, where he melded French cooking practices with Asian flavors and ingredients.  After a series of rapid promotions, Drewno was named Executive Sous Chef at Spago, Wolfgang Puck’s celebrated Las Vegas restaurant known for its seasonal American cuisine and celebrity clientele. He worked with a daily-changing menu featuring innovative dishes from locales spanning the globe.

In 2001, Drewno left Las Vegas and moved to New York to be closer to his family.  He worked the last six years furthering his Asian culinary knowledge cooking first under Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Vong and then for restaurateur Stephen Hansen at Ruby Foo’s.  Drewno began as Executive Sous Chef at Ruby Foo’s in 2002 but was quickly promoted only four months later to Executive Chef, a position he held for five years. While in New York, Drewno completed an Associate’s degree in Business Management at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

In January 2007, Drewno returned to the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group to serve as Executive Chef of The Source, the company’s first restaurant in the nation’s capital.  Prior to opening The Source, Drewno spent time cooking at several of the companies’ restaurants across the country, including Spago Beverly Hills, the flagship of the Puck restaurant empire.  Working alongside Puck and Lee Hefter, Managing Partner and Executive Corporate Chef of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Drewno worked to create the distinctive menus for The Source.

In 2008, The Source was named "New Restaurant of the Year" by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, (RAMW) and earned three-star reviews from The Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine. In 2010, Washingtonian Magazine promoted The Source to the #3 ranking in its 100 Very Best Restaurants issue, and gave the restaurant a 3.5 star review and Chef Drewno was honored by RAMW with the "Chef of the Year" award.

During his career, Drewno has participated in numerous culinary events and appeared on many top national television shows including The Today Show, Food Network, ESPN’s "Cold Pizza," FOX & Friends and ABC V-Cast.

Drewno credits his wife Allison Maggart Drewno, a graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, for continuing to inspire his passion for food, wine and hospitality.