Andrew Adams

Coming Up

Training at The Culinary Institute of America gave Andrew Adams the base; the line work that followed made it durable. The early sequence — KC's Restaurant (1996–1999), Commander's Palace (1999–2000), and the Ryland Inn (2001–2002) — shows a kitchen education built through repetition, precision, and attention to fundamentals. From there, Adams moved into leadership at Wally Joe Restaurant (2002–2007) as Head Chef, then carried that responsibility to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (2006–2012), where the pace of service had to hold its own beside the museum’s quieter cadence. At Rose's Luxury in Washington, DC, Adams worked first as Sous Chef and then as Executive Sous Chef, before shifting into the scale and rhythm of Whole Foods Market as chef. Across those roles, the throughline is control without stiffness: a way of cooking that keeps warmth in the work. Since 2017, Andrew Adams has served as Executive Chef at Bourbon Steak at Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC in Washington, DC, bringing that measured approach into a setting where consistency and finish matter equally. He is also Executive Chef of Acre Restaurant (since 2011), a role that reflects continuity and the accumulation of long practice.

Where They Are Now

At Acre Restaurant, classical grounding and Southern sensibility are carried through close attention to ingredients and technique. The cooking stays focused on process: how heat moves, how timing affects texture, and how restraint can sharpen an ingredient rather than soften it. In Adams’s hands, the kitchen treats method as part of the plate, not something hidden behind it. His explanation of roasting pig skin makes that process plain. “Then we flip it, score the skin and roast it until the skin is crispy and starts to blister,” he says, laying out the sequence without ornament. He goes further into the mechanics: “The steam created from the fat melting and boiling under the skin causes bubbles to form and when the fat boils over the bubbles, it gets crispy and makes the crunchy skin.” The appeal of the finished bite begins with what happens under the skin. That focus on the physical reality of cooking runs through the work. Texture, temperature, and transformation are treated as part of the dish’s language, not as effects added afterward. The result is practical and composed, with technique serving appetite directly.

Signature

Andrew's signature dishes include Hiramiso Tiradito.

In Their Words “The steam created from the fat melting and boiling under the skin causes bubbles to form and when the fat boils over the bubbles, it gets crispy and makes the crunchy skin.” “Then we flip it, score the skin and roast it until the skin is crispy and starts to blister.”