Sunday Takeout Dinners IN DC
Each week, five chefs come together to prepare one unique takeout experience priced at $150.
Our May 30 Menu
Our May 30 Chefs
Amy Brandwein of Centrolina
Caitlyn Dysart or Piccolina
Bradley Marlatt of Moon Rabbit
Jong Son of Tiger Fork
SHŌTŌ
Non Profits We Are Supporting
Our Organizers
Originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, Chef Kevin Tien started working in the corporate world after receiving his Master’s degree in Statistical Analysis and Business Analytics from Louisiana State University. Early on, however, his passion for food and service led him to a career change which then placed him on a culinary path in 2009. After working with various restaurants in Louisiana, Texas, and Washington, D.C., Kevin had an opportunity to open Himitsu, a Japanese-inspired restaurant combining freshness, acidity and herbs, leaning heavily on Latin American and Southeast Asian flavor profiles. After three years, Kevin made the difficult decision to close Himitsu to focus on Hot Lola's & Moon Rabbit. Earlier this year, Tien opened Hot Lola’s, a restaurant specializing in spicy chicken, in Ballston Quarter’s food hall, Quarter Market in Arlington, Virginia.
Kevin’s resume includes working for chefs Aaron Silverman (Little Pearl, Pineapple and Pearl, Rose’s Luxury / only worked at Pineapple and Pearl), David Chang (Momofuku CCDC), Jose Andres (Oyamel), and Tyson Cole (Uchi). Since the opening of Himitsu in 2016, the restaurant and Kevin garnered national attention and accolades from all corners of the United States. Bon Appetit named his intimate, neighborhood eatery one of the best new restaurants in the country last year, Kevin is a James Beard Finalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year 2018, James Beard Semi-Finalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year 2017, Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs List 2018, was named Washingtonian Magazine’s and Washington Business Journal’s 40 under 40, a semifinalist in 2017 for Eater’s Young Guns Awards, and Himitsu was Eater DC’s editor’s choice for restaurant of the year, and featured in The Washington Post’s Spring & Fall Dining Guides – 10 Best Restaurants 2017 and 2018. Kevin also competed against other contestants in the fierce season 2 of Iron Chef Gauntlet.
Tim Ma is a critically-acclaimed chef and food & beverage entrepreneur. Growing up in a family of restauranteurs, Tim's family pushed him towards an engineering career as he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Masters of Science from Johns Hopkins University. After a successful 12-year engineering career, Tim decided to pursue his passion for cooking and left it all behind - selling everything he owned and moving to New York City - to attend the French Culinary Institute, now the International Culinary Center.
Following an externship at a 2-Michelin Star Momofuku Ko, and cooking at the highly regarded Momofuku Ssam, Tim moved to St. Thomas, USVI to cook and formulate the plan for what would be his first restaurant. In 2009, Tim - along with help from dear family and friends - purchased a restaurant found on Craigslist with his last remaining credit card, remodeled it with those dear friends and family, and opened Maple Ave Restaurant on August 15, 2009.
Fast forward to 2013, Tim opened his second restaurant, Water & Wall, to rave reviews and Maple Ave was ranked the #1 restaurant in Northern Virginia. Always on the lookout for a sandwich, Chase the Submarine - Tim's dream vision for a craft sandwich shop - was brought to life in November 2015. March 2016 saw the opening of Tim's first DC restaurant, Kyirisan, which offered creative Chinese-French cooking in a modern, home-like setting, winning awards such as Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand, and an annual recurring spot in Washington Post’s Best Restaurants Dining Guide. Tim also joined as Culinary Director of healthy school meal delivery service Box’d Eats in 2017.
In September 2018, Chef Ma opened American Son, a restaurant located in Eaton DC which reimagines modern-day American cuisine and epitomizes what it genuinely is: a melting pot of diverse immigrant stories. Eaton DC is the first and flagship hotel under Eaton Workshop, a global purpose-driven company from founder Katherine Lo, at the intersection of culture, content, hospitality, wellness, and progressive social change. Lo hand-selected Chef Ma to bring to life her vision of offering new dining experiences that have a genuine point of view; and together, they are introducing a new culinary offering in Downtown D.C. that celebrates and explores what it means to be American today. In September 2019, American Son received its first nod in the Michelin Guide with the Bib Gourmand designation.
November 2019 was a very active time. Chef Ma took over as Executive Chef of Prather’s on the Alley in the burgeoning Mount Vernon Square neighborhood, and also signed on as Culinary Director for Laoban Dumplings, attaching his Chinese heritage and unique culinary style to the humble dumpling shop. His family was honored by the Smithsonian Museum of American History by including himself, his Uncle Paul, and their family heirlooms from their history of restaurants into the new “FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000” exhibit.
In November of 2020, in the middle the pandemic, Tim co-founded Lucky Danger, his creative, updated take on American Chinese take-out by Chinese Americans. The concept received rave reviews by critics and guests alike, leading to 5-months of complete and total sell outs every night.