Farmers Restaurant Group Corporate Chef Joe Goetze

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Joe has been developing menus and running kitchens for over a decade. He creates Founding Farmers’ recipes, leads the culinary team, researches ingredient sourcing and develops the produce and purveyor partnerships that are fundamental to our operations.

Chef Joe’s culinary path unfolded during high school, when he worked at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Conn., doing just about everything in the kitchen. This solid background instilled a fundamental skill set that helped him excel in culinary school, and the choice of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla., for his externship further solidified his commitment to the craft. Heeding the best advice he ever received, “master your palate,” Chef Joe did just that, working his way through the best restaurants on the Florida coast, developing not only his palate but the specific skills that have set him apart as an amazing chef.

Chef Joe was on the ground-floor team to renovate and revitalize The Melrose Hotel in Dallas and was the Sous Chef at the hotel’s restaurant, The Landmark, from 1992 until 1994. Executive chef positions followed at Sipango, City Café and Dani Catering and then, in 1997, Chef Joe found the place that would challenge his expert palate and continue to grow his career, eatZi’s Market & Bakery. He commanded this $17 million/year operation, responsible for all culinary operations.

Chef Joe joined the Founding Farmers team long before we opened our doors on Pennsylvania Avenue. His talents and knowledge have been instrumental in maintaining the restaurant’s commitment to true food and drink. He’s excited about spreading this message with the opening of Potomac’s Founding Farmers, especially as this gives him an opportunity to develop new dishes and flavors that are sure to become fan favorites.

Executive Chef Rob Ross

Chef Rob grew up all over the heartlands of the U.S., as his father worked in the oil and coal industry. Born in Oklahoma, he and his family also lived in Texas, Virginia, Illinois and other states, and traveled quite often. Before his interest in cooking and culinary pursuits fully took hold, Chef Rob was a classically trained musician and studied the French Horn, earning a degree in Classical Performance Music at Southern Illinois University. After college, he stayed in the St. Louis area and worked as a line cook at the Italian restaurant, Trattoria Marcella located in Crevecour, Mo., where his full appreciation and interest in being a chef truly blossomed — but he gives his mother full credit for encouraging his interests in cooking by helping her with the baking and with preparing family meals.

Chef Rob continued his studies and more formal training in the culinary arts at the St. Louis Culinary Academy in Forest Park, Mo. In 2003, he took a leap of faith and took a line cook position with The Cheesecake Factory in St. Louis, where he stayed for nine years, working his way through the ranks and finally earning the top spot of Executive Kitchen Manager.  He worked at 10 different Cheesecake locations within the company, three of which he helped to open.

Chef Rob is very excited to lead the Founding Farmers culinary team, and in his spare time outside of the kitchen, he loves music and downloads new tunes every Tuesday evening.

Executive Pastry Chef Courtney Goldian

Born and raised in Connecticut, Chef Courtney arrived in the mid-Atlantic region after high school to pursue a career in political science, studying at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. Unexcited about taking the plunge into a government job after graduation, she found a position making cinnamon rolls at a local mall. Chef Courtney soon realized that she had found a satisfying career, where the finished product was able to speak to the hard work she had put into it. A few months later, she went back to school, this time in the Pastry Arts program at Gaithersburg, Md.’s L’Academie de Cuisine. Upon graduation, she took positions at well-known D.C. kitchens including the Park Hyatt, the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, and Chef Geoff’s. She was elevated to Executive Pastry Chef when she opened Chef Geoff’s downtown location and went on to work at 2941 Restaurant, the Willard InterContinental Hotel, and The Inn at Little Washington.

Recently, Chef Courtney teamed up with two others to earn the Silver Medal at the National Team Pastry Championship in Phoenix, Ariz; the second-ever all-female team in the competition, the trio also took home the “Best Sugar” award. She also served as the team manager for the group representing the United States in the Junior World Pastry Championship in Rimini, Italy. Throughout her time in D.C., Chef Courtney has volunteered with Sweet Charity, an annual Washington event connecting the Heart of America Foundation and renowned pastry chefs to advocate for D.C. youth literacy. She also served as the 2003 host chef at Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale.

Chef Courtney is very excited to adopt the Founding Farmers philosophy and hopes to rise to the challenge by incorporating more fresh fruits and other local produce into her pastries and desserts. When she’s not working at Founding Farmers, she enjoys spending time with her Rottweiler and her husband, who is the executive sous chef at the Ritz-Carlton D.C., biking, going to the movies, and touring local vineyards.

Chief Mixologist Jon Arroyo

Congratulations to Jon and all of the mixologists at Founding Farmers for their 2011 RAMMY Awards win for Best Beverage/Mixology Program as named by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Truly deserving, Jon and his team are dedicated to the craft of cocktails and mixology. Come by today and enjoy a drink to experience it for yourself!

If you’ve never heard of a bar having an executive chef, welcome to Founding Farmers, where even the cocktails have a culinary and custom twist. Meet Executive Bar Chef Jon Arroyo, a true mixologist who believes that memorable experiences are created by each sip of a properly prepared cocktail, whether it’s an old standard, a Founding Farmers signature drink, or a small-batch bourbon, produced by a family distillery, served neat.

A Los Angeles native, Chef Arroyo started his career in the acting world and, like most actors, spent a lot of time working in restaurants and behind the bar at beverage emporiums. The world of entertainment and creating great experiences for guests clicked for him when he joined the Houston’s restaurant brand. They introduced him to fresh ingredients behind the bar, and he developed a truly culinary appreciation for freshly prepared and handcrafted juices, mixes, and flights of fine spirits.

After seven years with Houston’s Chef Arroyo was recruited to open a new concept in Philadelphia — Smoke Joint BBQ, modeled after Bluesmoke in New York. Jon helped develop the whiskey bar concept there, sponsored by the folks behind Jim Beam brands, and soon proved to be the hottest new concept around. Chef Arroyo even had the opportunity to connect and learn all about bourbons from Fred Nohe, the great-great-great-grandson of the man who first created Knob Creek. Even with all that success, Chef Arroyo caught the acting bug again and returned to commercials and other thespian pursuits.

When a friend called Jon and told him about VSAG and all the exciting new concepts that the restaurant-consulting firm was developing, Jon was pulled back to his true passion — sharing the art of the cocktail by leading Founding Farmers’ innovative bar program.