Flamboyant chefs, such as Guy Fieri of the Food Network, Gordon Ramsay of “Hell’s Kitchen” and Anthony Bourdain of many quirky kitchen adventures, have accustomed the dining public to chefs who are a little unconventional. One such is the executive chef of D.C.’s ultraclassy 701 Restaurant, a restaurant where once upon a time Grace Kelly might have supped extravagantly with, say, Cary Grant.
That executive chef Ed Witt presents a colorful face to the world — he is covered in colorful body art, such as swallows, roses and a dolphin — is without argument. But all of that must be an external expression of his inner creative chef. It is safe to say that Witt is one of D.C.’s most talented newcomers. Carrying impeccable credentials and having gained extensive culinary experience, Witt definitely has earned the right to forge a creative cuisine, which is both seductive and innovative.
Formerly a student at the University of Maryland, Witt says he started cooking back in his college days at a restaurant in College Park. Leaving school, he worked in the kitchens of Maryland’s iconic 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in College Park, before moving on to D.C.’s Occidental Grill.
“I started learning how to cook the right way,” he said. “Then I went to the Culinary Institute of America.”
While a student at the institute, Witt did an externship at Rubicon restaurant in California. His boss then: renowned culinarian Traci Des Jardins.
“I was just a line cook then,” he said, “but I got to working like a chef. … It was one of the best jobs as a cook. I came up with three specials every day.”
He moved with Des Jardins to open her top-tier restaurant, San Francisco’s Jardiniere, a buzzy place that back then served about 450 covers every night.
That’s where Witt got even further basic culinary grounding, for his boss then was Richard Reddington, who now owns his own restaurant, Redd, in Yountville, Calif.
“It was the timing,” he said. “Reddington grounded me in technique. He taught me how to make foie gras and to cure meats.”
After several years of cooking in California — and getting turned on to the fresh-from-the-farm California way — Witt did return to the Culinary Institute, and then spent the ensuing years working in numerous kitchens in the United States and abroad.
“I’ve been doing this for 17 years,” he said. “I have many different styles and I have worked for many different chefs.”
Considering that cooking was never part of his family life growing up — “My mom did the best she could, but it was all frozen vegetables” — Witt’s considerable culinary genius merits a double take. His creations come from his penchant for challenging his creativity and his patrons’ palates. Consider this: scallops with roasted sunchokes and pickled rhubarb, or the pork belly braised in tobacco and cider. That’s a culinary challenge.
