Aaron Silverman is an American

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

, known for his Michelin-starred restaurants Rose's Luxury, Pineapple & Pearls, and Little Pearl in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Silverman won a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

in 2016. __NOTOC__

Early life and career

Silverman was born and raised in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

, graduating from

Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School Thomas S. Wootton High School or Wootton High School (WHS) is a public high school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is Thomas S. Wootton, the founder of Montgomery County, Maryland. The school was founded in 1970 and is part of the Montgome ...

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

. He went to

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

to study accounting and political science but decided that he wanted to be a chef, enrolling in L'Academie de Cuisine in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

and working under Jonathan Krinn, a family friend, at 2941 Restaurant in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...

. In 2006, Krinn referred Silverman to the restaurant Jovia in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and he then found jobs at Momofuku Noodle Bar (with

David Chang David Chang (; ; born August 5, 1977) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, his restaurant Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin st ...

), Insieme (with

Marco Canora Marco Canora is an American chef, restaurateur and television personality. He has appeared on the Food Network on shows such as The Next Iron Chef, Chopped and Top Chef. Canora owns the Hearth Restaurant and Terroir wine bar in New York and is al ...

), and Aldea (with George Mendes). In 2010, he moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

to work with

Sean Brock Sean Brock is an American chef specializing in Southern cuisine. Early life and education Brock is originally from Pound in rural southwest Virginia. His father, who owned a trucking fleet that hauled coal, died when Brock was 11, resulting in ...

at McCrady's Restaurant. After a year at McCrady's, Silverman began planning his own restaurant. He read

Danny Meyer Daniel Meyer (born March 14, 1958) is a New York City restaurateur and the founder and executive chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Background and early career Meyer was born and raised in a reform Jewish family in St. Loui ...

's ''Setting the Table'' and moved back to the

area in August 2011. He held a series of pop-up dinners in 2012 and 2013, developing a menu and attracting investors, signing a lease for a vacant townhouse in

Barracks Row Barracks Row is a commercial strip along 8th Street SE that connects the Navy Yard and Capitol Hill neighborhoods in the Southeast of Washington, D.C., south of Eastern Market, between M Street SE and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The area takes it ...

, which would be the location of his first restaurant: Rose's Luxury.

Rose's Luxury and Pineapple & Pearls

Rose's Luxury opened in October 2013 and was an immediate success. The first review from ''The Washington Posts Tom Sietsema gave the restaurant three stars. ''Bon Appétit'' named it the best new restaurant in America for 2014. In 2016, Silverman was recognized by ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'' Magazine as one of America's Best New Chefs, and he won the

for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic. Silverman opened Pineapple & Pearls next door to Rose's Luxury in spring 2016, serving a 15-course dinner for $250 - the ''Washington Post'' named it the best new restaurant of 2016. In the inaugural

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 star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

for

, Rose's Luxury received one star and Pineapple & Pearls received two stars. In December 2017, Silverman opened Little Pearl, a more casual cafe and wine bar located at the

Old Naval Hospital The Old Naval Hospital is a historic building located at 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, Southeast Washington, D.C., in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. History In March 1864, president Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – A ...

, a few blocks from his other restaurants. In October 2019, Little Pearl received one star in the

for

Awards

* 2014 Best New Restaurant in America ( Rose's Luxury), ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

''. * 2016 Best New Chefs, ''

''. * 2016 Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic,

. * 2017 Michelin Star ( Rose's Luxury), the ''

''. * 2017 Michelin Stars ( Pineapple & Pearls), the ''

''. *2020 Michelin Star (Little Pearl), the ''

''.

References

External links

Rose's Luxury, our team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Aaron American chefs Living people 1982 births Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants James Beard Foundation Award winners