Sustainable Shopping: When it comes to Washington area farmers markets, chef Oliver Friendly is the expert on what’s fresh now, and what’s on its way. That’s because he supplies his catering company, Eat & Smile Foods, with whatever’s in season, whenever possible. “Farmers markets for me are like candy stores,” says Friendly, who launched his business in February.
Making Moves: Friendly followed a circuitous path to cooking. He pursued acting in New York and worked for John Kerry’s presidential campaign before enrolling in L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg in 2005. The school’s externship set him up at Peter Smith’s then-new Penn Quarter restaurant PS 7’s for a 14-month stint. But it was his next position, at Georgetown’s Hook, where he found his purpose. “From [Hook chef] Barton [Seaver], I realized how good food can be if you start with the freshest ingredients you can get and then let the food speak for itself,” he says. Friendly left the restaurant world and got into catering to control his menus and, more importantly, his time. “I wanted to be able to go to the farmers market that morning and get whatever was fresh. When you are the chef of [a] restaurant, you work 20-hour days for years. That is, at least for now, something I won't do,” Friendly says.To Market, to Market: At Eat & Smile Foods, what’s fresh dictates the menu. “There’s no preset anything, and the menu always changes,” he says. He might cook up baby BLTs with homemade bacon, pea shoots, and Sun Gold tomatoes, or shots of roasted squash soup with spiced crème fraîche and scallions. Bruce Jackson, president of nonprofit Project for Transitional Democracies, has worked with Friendly on in-home dinners for visiting ambassadors. “Oliver usually gives a short introduction to each course, which seems to fascinate my European guests who take their food seriously,” he says. Interior designer Lisa Adams, who has hired Friendly for dinners at home and a company barbecue, has also been pleased with his work. “He’s willing to do both sophisticated and comfort food,” she says.
Competitive Cooking: In addition to catering events, Friendly offers teambuilding cooking classes. Prices start at $100, plus $65 for each additional hour, as well as the cost of farm-fresh groceries. Lessons can involve putting together a three-course menu or can follow an Iron Chef model, where participants break into groups and compete against each other. “Cooking was a scary and unapproachable thing until I went to school,” Friendly says. “I like being able to pass that moment along to people, to empower them to cook in their own kitchens.”
Making Moves: Friendly followed a circuitous path to cooking. He pursued acting in New York and worked for John Kerry’s presidential campaign before enrolling in L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg in 2005. The school’s externship set him up at Peter Smith’s then-new Penn Quarter restaurant PS 7’s for a 14-month stint. But it was his next position, at Georgetown’s Hook, where he found his purpose. “From [Hook chef] Barton [Seaver], I realized how good food can be if you start with the freshest ingredients you can get and then let the food speak for itself,” he says. Friendly left the restaurant world and got into catering to control his menus and, more importantly, his time. “I wanted to be able to go to the farmers market that morning and get whatever was fresh. When you are the chef of [a] restaurant, you work 20-hour days for years. That is, at least for now, something I won't do,” Friendly says.To Market, to Market: At Eat & Smile Foods, what’s fresh dictates the menu. “There’s no preset anything, and the menu always changes,” he says. He might cook up baby BLTs with homemade bacon, pea shoots, and Sun Gold tomatoes, or shots of roasted squash soup with spiced crème fraîche and scallions. Bruce Jackson, president of nonprofit Project for Transitional Democracies, has worked with Friendly on in-home dinners for visiting ambassadors. “Oliver usually gives a short introduction to each course, which seems to fascinate my European guests who take their food seriously,” he says. Interior designer Lisa Adams, who has hired Friendly for dinners at home and a company barbecue, has also been pleased with his work. “He’s willing to do both sophisticated and comfort food,” she says.
Competitive Cooking: In addition to catering events, Friendly offers teambuilding cooking classes. Prices start at $100, plus $65 for each additional hour, as well as the cost of farm-fresh groceries. Lessons can involve putting together a three-course menu or can follow an Iron Chef model, where participants break into groups and compete against each other. “Cooking was a scary and unapproachable thing until I went to school,” Friendly says. “I like being able to pass that moment along to people, to empower them to cook in their own kitchens.”
