Patrick O’Connell (born October 9, 1945) was an American chef and proprietor of

the Inn at Little Washington The Inn at Little Washington is a luxury country inn and restaurant located in Washington, Virginia. Patrick O'Connell and Reinhardt Lynch founded the Inn in a former garage in 1978. It has been a member of the Relais & Châteaux hotel group si ...

, a country

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

and restaurant in the town of

Washington, Virginia The town of Washington, Virginia, is a historic village located in the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park. The entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, Wa ...

Early life and education

O'Connell was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in the nearby suburb of

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War. The population of Clinton was 38,760 at the 2020 cen ...

. He was not classically trained as a chef but worked after school at a neighborhood restaurant in his hometown.{{cite web , title = Patrick O'Connell , work = Author Spotlight , publisher = Random House, Inc. , url = http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=22474&view=full_sptlght , accessdate = 2007-10-17 O'Connell holds an undergraduate degree in drama from the Catholic University of America and he studied at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

The Inn at Little Washington

{{main, The Inn at Little Washington Along with his now former business and romantic partner, Reinhardt Lynch, he began a

catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major services be ...

business in 1972 in Virginia's

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...

. In 1978, O'Connell and Lynch opened the Inn at Little Washington in an abandoned gas station. The restaurant opened first for friends and acquaintances on January 28, 1978, then officially to the public on February 1, 1978. Three weeks after opening, a food critic for ''

The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...

'', John Rosson, visited the inn for dinner. In April 1978, Rosson's article was printed, proclaiming O'Connell's Inn at Little Washington as "the best restaurant within 150 miles of Washington D.C." The Inn has won the Mobil Travel Guide's Five-Star Awards for its restaurant and accommodations for 14 years. In 2018, the Inn received a three-star rating from the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

. The '' International Herald Tribune'' rated it as one of the ''Top Ten Best Restaurants in the World''. The

Zagat Survey The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...

for Washington, D.C. rated it number one in all categories for 14 consecutive years.

Awards and recognition

O'Connell was one of the first American chefs courted by the France-based

Relais & Chateaux Le Relais is a ski mountain just 15 minutes from downtown Quebec City, Canada. It is the smallest of the four ski stations located near Quebec City with Mont Sainte-Anne, Stoneham and Le Massif. Description Located in Lac-Beauport, Le Rela ...

. He is recognized as one of their "Grands Chefs" (formerly the designation was "Relais Gourmands" referring to establishments of two Michelin Star quality or better). He has been called "The Pope of American Cuisine". He has won numerous awards including Outstanding Chef in America in 2001 and Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic region in 1993, both awarded by the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

. In 2019, he was awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award.{{cite web , title=Patrick O'Connell and the Giving Kitchen will be honored at this year's Beard Awards , url=https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2019-lifetime-achievement-winner-and-humanitarian-of-the-year , website=JBF , accessdate=26 April 2019 He is a member of the

American Culinary Federation The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was established in 1929 in New York City and is the largest professional chefs' organization in North America. It was the progeny of the combined visions of three chefs' associations in New York City, the Soci ...

and was inducted into the ACF Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2019, O'Connell was awarded the

National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...

.{{cite news , last1=Heil , first1=Emily , title=Patrick O'Connell to receive National Humanities Medal from Trump , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/patrick-oconnell-to-receive-national-humanities-medal-from-trump/2019/11/18/28e07634-0a3d-11ea-97ac-a7ccc8dd1ebc_story.html , newspaper=The Washington Post , date=November 18, 2019

Works

* {{cite book , last = O'Connell , first = Patrick , others = photographs by Tim Turner , title = Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine: The Inn at Little Washington , publisher = Bullfinch Press , year = 2004 , location = New York , isbn = 0-8212-2845-5 , url-access = registration , url = https://archive.org/details/patrickoconnells00ocon

Notes

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References

* {{cite web , title = Patrick O'Connell , work = Author Spotlight , publisher = Random House, Inc. , url = http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=22474&view=full_sptlght , accessdate = 2007-10-17 * {{cite web , title =The Chefs: Patrick O'Connell , work =Chef's Story , publisher = KQED San Francisco , url =http://www.chefsstory.com/thechefs_patrickoconnell.html , accessdate = 2007-10-17 {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Patrick Living people American chefs American male chefs People from Washington, Virginia American restaurateurs Catholic University of America alumni George Washington University alumni 1945 births People from Washington, D.C. James Beard Foundation Award winners National Humanities Medal recipients