Chef Armstrong Receives Proclamation from Richmond

Recently re-elected Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45th) presented Restaurant Eve Chef and EatGoodFood Group honcho Cathal Armstrong with a proclamation from the state house on Friday.

It honors Armstrong for his business and culinary success in Alexandria as well as his service to Virginia. The House of Delegates agreed to the proclamation (posted below) in January.

“The 45th district is very lucky to have such a visionary business person and chef,” Krupicka wrote in an email. “Chef Armstrong has made enormous contributions to our community and has helped put Alexandria tourism and restaurants on an international map.”

Armstrong recently returned to helm the kitchen at Restaurant Eve, where President and Mrs. Obama famously celebrated their wedding anniversary in 2011. 

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 101

Commending Cathal Armstrong. 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 11, 2013

WHEREAS, Cathal Armstrong, visionary Alexandria chef and restaurateur, won the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce 2012 Business Leader of the Year Award; and

WHEREAS, Cathal Armstrong was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a father who appreciated both the simplicity of fresh, home-grown ingredients, and the intricacies of techniques found, for instance, in French cuisine; and

WHEREAS, at the age of seven, Cathal Armstrong began a series of annual student exchange programs in France, during which he continued to learn the importance of fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients; and

WHEREAS, when he later traveled to the United States, Cathal Armstrong brought his experiences with him and cultivated them into principles, which, in 2004, he would apply to his business Restaurant Eve; and

WHEREAS, the Eat Good Food Group, Cathal Armstrong’s culinary empire, would grow to include The Majestic, Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, PX, TNT Bar, Virtue Feed & Grain, and Society Fair; and

WHEREAS, each of those establishments would go on to garner glowing reviews from the public, the media, and the restaurant industry, and earned Cathal Armstrong a nomination for the James Beard Best Mid-Atlantic Chef Award in 2012; and

WHEREAS, for utilizing only the finest local and sustainable ingredients, Cathal Armstrong earned Edible Chesapeake magazine’s “Local Hero Award”, earned The Washingtonian magazine’s “Green Giant Award,” and at the request of the United States Department of State, lectured abroad on health and conservation; and

WHEREAS, in 2011 the White House named him a “Champion of Change” for his contributions to the community; later in the year, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary at the Restaurant Eve Tasting Room; and

WHEREAS, the prowess of Cathal Armstrong is evinced in the unassuming authenticity of Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, the haute sophistication of Restaurant Eve, or the august charm of PX; and

WHEREAS, Cathal Armstrong has achieved success by incorporating his Irish heritage, applying his French training, cultivating his own and sparking the artistry of others, and deftly heeding demand in the American market; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Cathal Armstrong hereby be commended for winning the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce 2012 Business Leader of the Year Award; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Cathal Armstrong as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for his celebrated restaurants and culinary skill.