Featured Chefs:
Chef Spike Mendelsohn
In January of 2004, Chef Spike Mendelsohn began his education at the Culinary Institute of America. During his time at school, he had an externship with Chef Gerard Boyer at the famous Restaurant Les Crayeres in Reims, France. Upon his return to the Institute, Chef Mendelsohn joined the Culinary Society, where he was chosen as one of ten students for a trip to Vietnam, which ended up being the beginning of Vietnamese influence on his technique and cuisine. Upon graduating in March 2005, he received the highest award offered at The Culinary Institute of America, The Francis Roth Leadership Award. After graduation he pursued and landed a job working for Thomas Keller at Bouchon Restaurant in Napa Valley.
Following his time at Bouchon, Chef Mendelsohn moved to New York City to work for the Maccioni Family at the famed Le Cirque. After leaving Le Cirque, he went on to work for Drew Nieporent and later Chef Michael Huynh to open Michelin-starred restaurant, Mai House, in New York City.
Chef Mendelsohn his television debut when he became a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef: Chicago. He has since appeared on Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars as well as Life After Top Chef. He was also enlisted as part of Food Network’s Next Iron Chef: All-Stars and Next Iron Chef: Redemption. His new series, Midnight Feast, will be airing this Fall on FYI, a new lifestyle network by A&E.
However, Chef Mendelsohn’s full time passion remains his restaurants. He opened his first one, Good Stuff Eatery, in the Capitol Hill section of Washington D.C. to rave reviews and subsequently opened locations in Georgetown and Crystal City, VA. Next door to the original Good Stuff Eatery location is Spike’s second concept called We, The Pizza, which opened along with a second location in Arlington, VA. In the summer of 2013, he opened a steak frites restaurant called Béarnaise, also on Capitol Hill, which was awarded 2-stars from The Washington Post. Most recently, he opened the fourth location of Good Stuff Eatery in Philadelphia, PA and is looking forward to opening his newest venture: The Sheppard, a craft cocktail bar in Washington, DC.
His first cookbook, The Good Stuff Cookbook, features American comfort food classics and favorites that are just right for the home cook.
Chef Joy Crump
A graduate of the nationally accredited Art Institute of Atlanta in the field of Culinary Arts, Chef Crump specialIzes in researching and preparing locally grown, and organic foods. A long-time proponent of farm-to-table cooking, her philosophy centers around using natural ingredients wherever possible, with a keen eye toward foods grown, farmed, butchered and purveyed in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Her culinary career began in Los Angeles working as the caterer and event planner for the President of Capitol Records. There, she hosted countless functions for musicians and executives, sharpening her skills in presentation and large-scale planning. At the same time, she worked on private events for Warner Bros. Television. She was a go-to private chef for actors and executives on Warner’s television series and feature films. In 2005, Chef Crump relocated to Atlanta Georgia, where she attended the Art Institute of Atlanta. While working on her degree, she studied under Chef Bradley Rouse, head chef for the NBA team The Atlanta Hawks. There, she worked closely with Chef Rouse planning menus and preparing meals for the private dining facility for both the NBA players and their families. There was a particular focus on the specialized athlete’s diet.
Upon graduation from the Art Institute, Chef Crump began cooking at Woodfire Grill as an apprentice to Chef Micahel Tuohy. Chef Tuohy has been credited with shifting the local / organics / farm-to-table practices from Northern California to the Atlanta restaurant scene. At Woodfire Grill, she cultivated her skills in several methods of cooking, including meat curing, butchery, fruit preservation, sauce-making and wine-pairing. She worked closely with local Atlanta farmers and purveyors, and learned the art of fine seasonal cooking in an upscale atmosphere. In 2008, Tuohy turned the ownership of Woodfire Grill over to Chef Kevin Gillespie (“Top Chef” Contestant, Season 6). Chef Gillespie remains there currently, and Joy proudly worked on his team for nearly two years.
Additionally, Chef Crump has had the honor of cooking directly with some of the South’s finest chefs, including Virginia Willis, author of the nationally-acclaimed cookbook, “Bon Appetit, Y’all; Chef Ford Fry, Chef/owner, JCT Kitchen & Bar; Chef Hilary White, Chef/owner, The Hil at Serenbe Farms; Chef Scott Peacock, former Executive Chef at the award-winning restaurant Watershed in Decatur, and Chef Kevin Rathbun of Rathbun’s, Krog Bar and Kevin Rathbun Steak.
In 2008, she founded FOODĒ as a home-based private event and catering company in Atlanta. In 2010, FOODĒ grew to a physical location on Caroline Street in Historic Downtown Fredericksburg. There, she and her team pride themselves in putting their key philosophy into practice for their guests and clients. Namely, they provide a large variety of seasonal, market-fresh, natural and organic meals prepared in a comfortably refined style. FOODĒ Fredericksburg opened in January, 2011. Chef Crump appeared on Season 12 of Top Chef last fall and her signature Chicken & Waffles won the Virginia is for Lovers Culinary Madness Challenge in April. In spring 2015, she opened her second restaurant, Mercantile, in Fredericksburg.
Chef David Dunlap
The foundation for Chef Dunlap's passion for food was laid
early in life. Born in Washington State near Puget Sound, he recalls fondly his
childhood days spent playing and harvesting in his family's orchards, foraging
for huckleberries, picking strawberries and blackberries and tending to bees.
After a job cooking at a local farmer's market in Boulder,
Colorado, Chef Dunlap was inspired to enroll at the California Culinary
Academy. Upon graduation, he worked under Executive Chef Jung at El Encanto
Hotel in Santa Barbara, where he learned to utilize fresh, seasonal
ingredients. After his next job cooking at a five‐star Four Seasons property,
Chef Dunlap and his family moved to Virginia to be closer to family, and he
then opened Alain Ducasse’s Adour restaurant as Chef de Partie. It was there
that Chef Dunlap developed the finer points of his culinary approach.
Following a stint as Sous Chef at Plume Restaurant at The
Jefferson Hotel in DC, Chef Dunlap was recruited by The Inn at Little
Washington, where he was eventually promoted to Executive Sous Chef. Chef
Dunlap brings his talents to Maple & Pine after a very successful three
years at the celebrated Ashby Inn in nearby Paris, Virginia.