Drew Adams
Bourbon Steak | Washington, DC
October 2019
Drew Adams grew up near Maryland’s Eastern Shore, picking mussels from the Chesapeake with his father and working on a crab truck and at a seafood restaurant. Inspired to pursue a career in food, he attended Johnson & Wales University, graduating in 2005.
Adams then worked for CMC Joachim Buchner at The Chevy Chase Club as a chef de partie, a formative gig for the young chef. In 2009, he became a saucier and chef de partie at Marcel’s in Washington, D.C.—Robert Wiedmaier’s luxe French flagship. When StarChefs Rising Stars alum Aaron Silverman opened Rose’s Luxury in the Barracks Row neighborhood of D.C., he tapped Adams as sous chef and promoted him to executive sous soon after. The restaurant received numerous accolades and was named “Best New Restaurant” by Bon Appétit in 2014 as well as “Best New Restaurant, Semifinalist” by the James Beard Foundation.
Adams then moved to The Dabney to work for Chef Jeremiah Langhorne who was en route to his James Beard Award and a Michelin star. In order to spend more time with his family, Adams left the restaurant kitchen to become Whole Foods’ Mid-Atlantic research and development chef. In July 2017, he leapt back into the fire as executive chef of Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons in Georgetown. In 2018, Adams received a StarChefs Rising Stars Award for his work.
2019 StarChefs Chefs Congress Presenter
2018 Washington DC Rising Stars Award Winner
