The October 2023 issue describes Alfred Restaurant Group owner as a transformative figure.
BALTIMORE, Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Chef Ashish Alfred is front and center on the cover of the October 2023 issue of Baltimore Magazine, where he is featured as one of the city's premier "Taste Makers"-- defined as "the most influential movers and shakers on Charm City's hospitality scene."
In honoring Alfred with top billing, the magazine explains: "If there's one person to thank for almost single-handedly transforming the southwestern corner of Broadway Square in Fells Point, it is restaurateur Ashish Alfred. His two restaurants—the French brasserie Duck Duck Goose, which he opened in 2018, and the Italian Osteria Pirata, which arrived in May—occupy much of the block between Shakespeare and Thames streets and are connected both physically and creatively. But that's nothing compared to the transformation Alfred has done on himself."
In the article, Chef Al, as he's affectionately known, opens up about his substance-abuse past and how his recovery has shaped the way he runs the establishments in his Alfred Restaurant Group. The magazine dubbed Alfred "The Sober Ambassador" in the article, writing: "As a result of his struggles, he has led the way in the non-alcoholic drink revolution. Long before mocktails became a trend, Alfred was elevating that section of his restaurants' drink menus."
Alfred explains that he runs his restaurants as "dry houses" — the staff doesn't drink together during or after work — not only because of his own history with alcohol and drugs, but also, and mainly, because he knows from hard-won experience that "when people aren't hungover, it makes it easier to have a more professional, respectful environment."
In other words, he's running a business, not a frat house — and the results of his approach are evident in the success of his restaurants. As Baltimore Magazine noted in its profile, "Restauranting is a hard job, both physically and mentally demanding, and Alfred, now 37, still cooks on the line several nights a week. … That work, and that work ethic, is apparent in the quality and the creativity of his food."
The article also noted that Alfred recently finished writing a memoir revealing the twists and turns of his journey and what it has taken for him to make his restaurants beloved institutions wherever he plants them. "I don't do anything by half measures," Alfred said.
Baltimore Magazine is available in print and online. Its Taste Makers feature is in the October issue.
About Chef Ashish Alfred
Trained at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan (where he then honed his skills in some of the best kitchens in NYC), Chef Ashish Alfred has appeared on Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped, and has attracted rave reviews from well-known food critics. He is the chef and owner of the Alfred Restaurant Group's four restaurants: Duck Duck Goose in Washington, D.C., Duck Duck Goose and Osteria Pirata in Baltimore's Fells Point neighborhood, and the soon-to-be-opened Good Ducking Burger in Bethesda, Maryland.
Media Contact
Marc Silverstein, On The Marc Media, 202-716-9123, [email protected], https://onthemarcmedia.com/
SOURCE Chef Ashish Alfred
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