Cathal Armstrong once cooked for Julia Child and often for Ted Kennedy and now he’s cooked for President Barack Obama.
The Irish owner of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia was given the ultimate dream dinner to prepare when the White House told him to expect Michelle and Barack Obama for their intimate 19th wedding anniversary.
Cathal Armstrong is friends with the First Lady and has worked with her on her initiative to help children eat healthier and is founder of ‘Chefs as Parents’ an organization set up with that goal in mind.
The restaurant is named for his daughter.
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Given his friendship with Michelle, it was no great surprise that the first couple arrived to his door in the Oldtown section and the president and first lady stepped out of their limousine around 8:00 on a rainy Saturday night to sample his fare. His intimate restaurant seats 100.
Armstrong is used to big guests but nothing quite like this.
The normally unflappable chef remembers the day when Julia Child turned up unannounced. He was working at Bistro Bis, a popular brasserie on Capitol Hill.
“I had nothing ready,” Armstrong says. “So I cooked for her off the cuff.”
Armstrong and his wife and business partner Meshelle have opened three restaurants in Virginia.
The Armstrongs and partner Todd Thrasher also own and operate Eamonn's A Dublin Chipper; PX, the upstairs speakeasy lounge; and the historic eatery the Majestic, all within five blocks from Restaurant Eve.
When interviewed by Irish Central’s Ashley Parker last year while sitting at a table at Restaurant Ev, Armstrong talked about some of the celebrities he has cooked for.
He cooked a private dinner for George W. Bush in the White House residence, and hosted a fundraiser at the Majestic “for a very little known senator from Illinois about two years ago, at the beginning of a presidential campaign.”
Michelle Obama came back to eat there once she was first lady.
His favorite guest to cook for, however, was the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who he cooked for “at least 100 times at Bistro Bis.” As soon as Kennedy heard Armstrong’s accent, he started introducing him to all of his Senate friends as “our chef.”
“He liked his liver and onions,” Armstrong says.
Armstrong grew up in a suburb of Dublin called Killiney, “Which is where Bono's house is, actually,” he notes with a chuckle. “But we didn't live in that neighborhood. We lived on the other side of town.”
He went to a small, all Gaelic-speaking school, played hurling for the Dublin minors and moved to the United States in 1990, just two weeks short of his 21st birthday. He landed a job at Murphy's Irish Pub in Woodley Park, and the plan was to “earn some fast cash and get out of the restaurant business” and head back to London to attend culinary school.
“That was about 19 years ago,” laughs the man who got his U.S. citizenship about five years ago but still thinks in Irish. He has come a long way.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.McNamara31 | Oct 04, 2011, 10:24 PM EDT
@simplesandy... For one who says they have lived in Ireland for 6 years, and thinks they can speak for 95% of the Irish people, it’s very surprising that you cannot spell "Moneygall".
simplesandy | Oct 04, 2011, 08:14 PM EDT
@PatriciaMarya- I like many others voice their opinion here on the internet. You don't know me nor do I know you. I feel this president used the Irish to get votes as many other Irish here in Ireland do. 95 % of the people I have spoken with here in Ireland feel the same way. No I am not from Money gull where the president of the United States went. If they chose to love him so be it. But my point was, he (in my opinion) came here to get the American Irish vote. I am entitled to that opinion. I also have Irish roots. When asked if I am Irish and I respond yes then I am quickly told unless I was born in Ireland then I am NOT Irish I am an American. soooo when the President says he is Irish then I have to ask why is that acceptable? He is not Irish, he is (and this is debatable) an American.as for DNA there are millions of Americans who have Irish roots. I am sorry, I feel the president is not 100 % trust worthy. Once again my opinion.
PatriciaMarya | Oct 04, 2011, 05:06 PM EDT
Ooh, McNamara31, coolock5 and mamaginty - go ahead, play through. You read it out right and say it like it is! The problem with the internet is that it allows idiot their time without the courage of saying "it" face to face. A sweet story about the First Couple enjoying a Irish Chef who made it turns into an excuse to slam down with no reason or wherefore. So sad, so sad, but I did so love the rebuttals - right on, right on.
McNamara31 | Oct 04, 2011, 11:33 AM EDT
mamaginnty, coolock5.... Regarding "simplesandy" statements on Irishness. We true Irish can spot an imposter every time. Being Irish is as much a matter of heart and mind as it is of DNA or citizenship. I Scath a Chéile a Mhaireann Na Daoine; and we do indeed cast a big shadow worldwide. Simplesandy you may reside in Ireland, but Ireland doesn't live in you.
coolock5 | Oct 03, 2011, 08:30 PM EDT
simplesandy is confusing nationality with genealogy. If a couple from Ireland decide to emigrate to China and have a baby there, the baby's nationality is Chinese, but their genealogy (or blood, if you will) is Irish, as are their children, grandchildren, etc. People of Irish heritage in the state or Canada or Australian still have Irish blood, just a different citizenship/nationality. simplesandy's naive ideas just won't cut it here. Maybe she should try a Sarah Palin blog where her comments will be more fitting, although still far from true.
mamaginnty | Oct 03, 2011, 06:16 PM EDT
Simplesandy...the name suits you, 6 years in Ireland and you know us all. Go back to where ever you crawled from. The irish are not all bigots like yourself, every time a black persons name is mentioned it is unbelievable the hatred that spews from some white mouths.
nicgearailt | Oct 03, 2011, 03:10 PM EDT
Luke Russert told us on Twitter about the Obama's celebrating their wedding anniversary there..great to hear this story...man with a plan and making it work for him...well done Cathal from the other side of Killiney ..my aunt and uncle lived in Ard Sonas near Killiney many years ago ..they had a dog Bainin...he understood gaelic..the language spoken in Ard Sonas..we even said the rosary in Irish..those were the days...
simplesandy | Oct 03, 2011, 01:38 PM EDT
@ McNamara31 I'll calm down when he stops making me so sick of listening to how much he wants to be Irish. Read his book.BTW I live here in Ireland for last 6 years and you don't know what the ell you are talking about. The only ones who cared a little about Obama were the ones fooled by him. Trust me it was only a small amount. Sorry I can see right through him. And so can the Irish. They are not dumb. Also unless you were born in Ireland with Irish parents you ARE NOT IRISH. People here in Ireland can't understand why the Americans want to call themselves Irish when they are Americans. And that’s what I have been hearing here for the last 6 years.maybe you should come here and live awhile. Visiting just don’t cut it.
Springfield9 | Oct 03, 2011, 01:22 PM EDT
Had I a guess ....it would have been the Waffle House
Ballyphehane1 | Oct 03, 2011, 12:12 PM EDT
It doesn't really bother me where the Obamas celebrated their anniversary. However, I would like to say congratulations to Cathal Armstrong for doing so well. Saw an interview with him on the RTE player a while back - the show was called Béile na Féile i Washington le Cathal Armstrong. He came across as a really genuine guy on that show.
pilib04 | Oct 02, 2011, 06:39 PM EDT
Why wouldn't America's Irish President celebrate his wedding anniversary in an Irish restaurant. You can see how much he enjoyed his brief visit to his ancestral hometown.
McNamara31 | Oct 02, 2011, 03:25 PM EDT
simplesandy Soooo bitter. You need a trip to Ireland to calm down, relax, have some good conversation and start to see things with a bit more perspective. And BTW I was in Moneygall recently and they still love the prez and the Mrs.
whiteycat | Oct 02, 2011, 12:25 PM EDT
Since obama is half white that must be his irish half so why is it important that he eats in a irish restaurant? I eat Dinty moores all the time.
simplesandy | Oct 02, 2011, 12:18 PM EDT
This makes me want to throw up. Will he read aloud the part he wrote in his book about how he only wants to learn about his black side of the family and not the white side? Oh sorry I forgot this is election time he wants to be Irish for a few more months. Guess what he don't give a rat's a$$ about his Irish background. And what happened to If you’re not born in Ireland then you are not Irish . That’e what I have been told by the Irish. HELLOOOO !!!
donal1951 | Oct 02, 2011, 11:58 AM EDT
It's good to read an Irish success in America story. The fact Michelle Obama likes the restaurant shows that when it comes to food, she has good taste. Speaking of food, I do support her anti-obesity campaign, although I shall not vote for her husband's re-election.
gobdawpaddy | Oct 02, 2011, 10:36 AM EDT
Did he order the all day full Irish or the Guinness beef pie ?
crny925 | Oct 02, 2011, 09:49 AM EDT
Of course now this proves there's no one as Irish as Barack Obama!