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When 14-year-old Bertrand Chemel walked into the bakery near his grandmother's home in France, his life changed forever. Summers at the bakery turned into a more formal kitchen education at culinary school in France. With a degree in hand and military service behind him, Chemel landed at one the finest restaurants in France — Michel Gaudin's restaurant in the Alps. What followed was a culinary adventure that eventually led Chemel to the United States and his current restaurant 2941 in Falls Church, Virginia.

Chef Chemel's restaurant was recently nominated as the most Outstanding Restaurant in the United States by the James Beard Foundation. 2941 is the only restaurant in Virginia to make the semi-final round in that category. What makes the experience at 2941 special enough to earn such a prestigious nomination? Chef Chemel discusses his food, his family, and his leadership style in the kitchen with Scott Wise and Robey Martin on the latest episode of Eat It, Virginia!

When 14-year-old Bertrand Chemel walked into the bakery near his grandmother's home in France, his life changed forever. Summers at the bakery turned into a more formal kitchen education at culinary school in France. With a degree in hand and military service behind him, Chemel landed at one the finest restaurants in France — Michel Gaudin's restaurant in the Alps. What followed was a culinary adventure that eventually led Chemel to the United States and his current restaurant 2941 in Falls Church, Virginia.
Chef Chemel's restaurant was <a href="https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2024-james-beard-awards-semifinalists">recently nominated as the most Outstanding Restaurant in the United States</a> by the James Beard Foundation. 2941 is the only restaurant in Virginia to make the semi-final round in that category. What makes the experience at 2941 special enough to earn such a prestigious nomination? Chef Chemel discusses his food, his family, and his leadership style in the kitchen with Scott Wise and Robey Martin on the latest episode of Eat It, Virginia!

Eat It, Virginia! is a deep dive into the food, restaurants, and dining trends of Richmond, Virginia and spots around the Commonwealth. 

Eat It, Virginia! is a deep dive into the food, restaurants, and dining trends of Richmond, Virginia and spots around the Commonwealth.

Eat It, Virginia!

Bertrand Chemel: 2941

Robey Martin and Scott Wise are joined by James Beard-nominated chef Travis Milton.

Milton discussed the cultural significance of Appalachian cuisine and its role as an economic driver in Bristol, Virginia, where his restaurant Hickory, at Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards, is located. 

He emphasized the importance of investing in local talent and building a strong team with diverse skills and experiences to create a unique and elevated dining experience for customers.

Milton also discussed his mentors, his time cooking in Richmond restaurants, and mental health struggles in the hospitality industry. (Jump straight to interview 18:15)

Before the interview, Scott and Robey talked about new restaurants opening in Richmond (2:07), Scott shared details of his epic Spring Break trip to Buc-ee's and Graceland in Memphis (4:32), Robey has issues with some restaurants near her home (10:21), and Scott and Robey made new friends while having a night out on the town (16:05).

This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and its new exhibit Julia Child: A Recipe For Life.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/callmerobey/">Robey Martin </a>and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/scott_wise/">Scott Wise </a>are joined by James Beard-nominated chef Travis Milton.
Milton discussed the cultural significance of Appalachian cuisine and its role as an economic driver in Bristol, Virginia, where his restaurant <a href="https://www.nicewonderfarm.com/hickory">Hickory, at Nicewonder Farm &amp; Vineyards</a>, is located. 
He emphasized the importance of investing in local talent and building a strong team with diverse skills and experiences to create a unique and elevated dining experience for customers.
Milton also discussed his mentors, his time cooking in Richmond restaurants, and mental health struggles in the hospitality industry. (Jump straight to interview 18:15)
Before the interview, Scott and Robey talked about new restaurants opening in Richmond (2:07), Scott shared details of his epic Spring Break trip to Buc-ee's and Graceland in Memphis (4:32), Robey has issues with some restaurants near her home (10:21), and Scott and Robey made new friends while having a night out on the town (16:05).
This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Museum of History &amp; Culture and its new exhibit <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://virginiahistory.org/exhibitions/julia-child-recipe-life__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!fllLxCj6dL4Au0Ae_ueH4RhHLbaMvbnlV8O5QxICXa9Y3o46-6evYk_Nbk54pXOHUmPS8o1Ybrxbje5ktdww$" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">Julia Child: A Recipe For Life</a>.

Travis Milton: Appalachian cuisine at Hickory, at Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards

Cou Cou Rachou bakery owner Rachel De Jong grew up in a large family in Charlottesville, Virginia. She credited her family with helping her discover her passion in the kitchen.

"I'm one of five children, so food was around a lot. When you're feeding seven people in the house, I was always in the kitchen, I was always watching my mom. But I had a huge sweet tooth," she said. "And of course, all my brothers always wanted cookies around. My mom preferred to do the cooking, baking not quite, so I just assumed the role and started baking all the time."

Her love of baking eventually landed her in school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. 

Stints at Baker's Palette and Gearharts Fine Chocolates in Charlottesville came next followed by the opportunity to work with Chef Patrick O'Connell at The Inn at Little Washington.

Over her four years at the Inn, De Jong's kitchen experience grew.

"The pastry department was baking for the gift shop, it was baking the cookie boxes for favor, the little cute Inn boxes, doing things for room service. Very often, we had VIPs in the kitchen and dessert was one of chef's go-to's to make them feel welcome and special and change up their dinner," she said. "He never liked for people to get the same thing every time, he liked to surprise them. So dessert was often one of those ways that he would do that."

Then, after launching her baking concept during the pandemic, De Jong opened Cou Cou Rachou in November 2021.

Listen to Eat It, Virginia to hear Rachel De Jong share how she chooses ingredients for her croissants and pastries, what it's like working before the sun rises, and how Julia Child inspires her to this day.

This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and its new exhibit Julia Child: A Recipe For Life.

Cou Cou Rachou

917 Preston Ave Suite B

Charlottesville, VA 22903 

434-270-0583

<a href="https://www.coucourachou.com/">Cou Cou Rachou</a> bakery owner Rachel De Jong grew up in a large family in Charlottesville, Virginia. She credited her family with helping her discover her passion in the kitchen.
"I'm one of five children, so food was around a lot. When you're feeding seven people in the house, I was always in the kitchen, I was always watching my mom. But I had a huge sweet tooth," she said. "And of course, all my brothers always wanted cookies around. My mom preferred to do the cooking, baking not quite, so I just assumed the role and started baking all the time."
Her love of baking eventually landed her in school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. 
Stints at Baker's Palette and Gearharts Fine Chocolates in Charlottesville came next followed by the opportunity to work with Chef Patrick O'Connell at The Inn at Little Washington.
Over her four years at the Inn, De Jong's kitchen experience grew.
"The pastry department was baking for the gift shop, it was baking the cookie boxes for favor, the little cute Inn boxes, doing things for room service. Very often, we had VIPs in the kitchen and dessert was one of chef's go-to's to make them feel welcome and special and change up their dinner," she said. "He never liked for people to get the same thing every time, he liked to surprise them. So dessert was often one of those ways that he would do that."
Then, after launching her baking concept during the pandemic, De Jong opened <a href="https://www.coucourachou.com/">Cou Cou Rachou</a> in November 2021.
Listen to Eat It, Virginia to hear Rachel De Jong share how she chooses ingredients for her croissants and pastries, what it's like working before the sun rises, and how Julia Child inspires her to this day.
This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Museum of History &amp; Culture and its new exhibit <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://virginiahistory.org/exhibitions/julia-child-recipe-life__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!fllLxCj6dL4Au0Ae_ueH4RhHLbaMvbnlV8O5QxICXa9Y3o46-6evYk_Nbk54pXOHUmPS8o1Ybrxbje5ktdww$" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">Julia Child: A Recipe For Life</a>.
<a href="https://www.coucourachou.com/">Cou Cou Rachou</a>
917 Preston Ave Suite B
Charlottesville, VA 22903 
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=cou+cou+rachou&amp;sca_esv=1146a47570834aa6&amp;rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1006US1006&amp;sxsrf=ACQVn0_G94wvIb1GggRvaKnXOnpum_odvw%3A1710724138646&amp;ei=KpT3ZbjzJt7niLMP44iz0A0&amp;oq=Cou+Co&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiBkNvdSBDbyoCCAAyBxAjGLADGCcyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsANInghQAFgAcAF4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBAcgBAJgCAaACBJgDAIgGAZAGCZIHATGgBwA&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp#" data-dtype="d3ph" data-local-attribute="d3ph" data-ved="2ahUKEwj_wqOH0PyEAxWIN1kFHbfHBIYQkAgoAHoECF8QAg">434-270-0583</a>

Rachel De Jong: Cou Cou Rachou

Maria Martin and her family recently opened a Richmond outpost of Juan More Taco on Robinson Street in The Fan.

The family also owns and operates a Juan More Taco in Fredericksburg. Virginia.

But the story of Juan More Taco begins in Honduras, where Maria was born and raised.

"Honduras has a lot of Mediterranean Middle Eastern influence. And we use a lot of spices and I'm not saying spices in the sense of spicy hot food, just flavorful," Maria Martin said when asked to describe Honduran food. "I go to some places [taco restaurants in the U.S.] and I have to see what I'm eating because everything tastes the same. There is no difference. For us and our places, every meat has distinct flavors. So that's the beauty of the Honduran flavors that we have put into our food. You can really, really taste the flavors."

Love eventually brought Martin to Virginia where she and her husband raised their children. Once the children were grown and out of the house, Maria sought another job.

She went from feeding her family and friends to feeding her community through a food truck.

"We started researching and we find this little tiny trailer in Florida. We went, we saw it, we bought it. By December 2, 2016, we opened our doors and served food through our window," she said. "It was amazing. Not even six months later, and I have people saying you know, we want to support you to open a brick and mortar. But I'm like, I'm not ready."

She was ready a few years later.

Juan More Taco opened as a restaurant in Fredericksburg in 2019.

In March 2020, Maria put in a big order of food for the restaurant just before COVID-19 shuttered the industry. Or so she thought.

"In my head, I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm losing my business,'" she recalled. "I just had a $3,000 delivery of food. What am I going to do? The first thing that comes to my mind is we can feed the elderly, right?"

Martin and her family put out the word on social media.

That first week, about a dozen people took her up on her offer for free food.

By the end of that summer, Maria and Juan More Taco were feeding 75 seniors every single day.

"COVID was our busiest time. It was insanely busy. I had like 20 employees. We didn't close one day of the week. It was work, work, work, work work. We were super busy with the food truck," she said.

On this episode of Eat It, Virginia, listen to Maria Martin talk about what she learned about herself and her business during the pandemic and learn why she chose Richmond to open her next restaurant.

Maria Martin and her family recently opened a Richmond outpost of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/juanmoretacorva/">Juan More Taco</a> on Robinson Street in The Fan.
The family also owns and operates a Juan More Taco in Fredericksburg. Virginia.
But the story of Juan More Taco begins in Honduras, where Maria was born and raised.
"Honduras has a lot of Mediterranean Middle Eastern influence. And we use a lot of spices and I'm not saying spices in the sense of spicy hot food, just flavorful," Maria Martin said when asked to describe Honduran food. "I go to some places [taco restaurants in the U.S.] and I have to see what I'm eating because everything tastes the same. There is no difference. For us and our places, every meat has distinct flavors. So that's the beauty of the Honduran flavors that we have put into our food. You can really, really taste the flavors."
Love eventually brought Martin to Virginia where she and her husband raised their children. Once the children were grown and out of the house, Maria sought another job.
She went from feeding her family and friends to feeding her community through a food truck.
"We started researching and we find this little tiny trailer in Florida. We went, we saw it, we bought it. By December 2, 2016, we opened our doors and served food through our window," she said. "It was amazing. Not even six months later, and I have people saying you know, we want to support you to open a brick and mortar. But I'm like, I'm not ready."
She was ready a few years later.
Juan More Taco opened as a restaurant in Fredericksburg in 2019.
In March 2020, Maria put in a big order of food for the restaurant just before COVID-19 shuttered the industry. Or so she thought.
"In my head, I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm losing my business,'" she recalled. "I just had a $3,000 delivery of food. What am I going to do? The first thing that comes to my mind is we can feed the elderly, right?"
Martin and her family put out the word on social media.
That first week, about a dozen people took her up on her offer for free food.
By the end of that summer, Maria and Juan More Taco were feeding 75 seniors every single day.
"COVID was our busiest time. It was insanely busy. I had like 20 employees. We didn't close one day of the week. It was work, work, work, work work. We were super busy with the food truck," she said.
On this episode of Eat It, Virginia, listen to Maria Martin talk about what she learned about herself and her business during the pandemic and learn why she chose Richmond to open her next restaurant.

Bertrand Chemel: 2941

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