Honey

Featured Chef - Chef Frank Morales

Executive Chef
Rustico
Alexandria, VA

Frank Morales brings over 16 years of culinary expertise to his position as Executive Chef of Rustico. At the 130-seat restaurant, located in Alexandria, Virginia, Morales is carving a new niche on the culinary scene, cultivating unique recipes inspired by Rustico’s 330+ beer list and developing pairings that enhance his simple and rustic menu items that feature time-honored cooking techniques and regionally-sourced ingredients. Since joining Rustico, Morales and the restaurant have been featured in numerous consumer, food and trade publications, including The New York Times, Food Arts, USA Today, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and DC Magazine.

Prior to his position at Rustico, Morales served as the executive chef at Zola, dubbed “Washington’s hottest new restaurant” by The New York Times, and “one of the 75 best new restaurants in the world for 2003” by Conde Nast Traveler. In addition to leading Zola’s culinary team, Chef Morales directed the catering operations for the International Spy Museum and its Spy City Café. Under Morales’ leadership, Zola’s straightforward American cuisine earned three-stars in The Washington Post’s “Dining Guide”.

Before joining Zola, Morales was the executive chef at the Oval Room, one of Washington’s favorite power hangouts. After graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park in 1995 and prior to his departure for Washington DC, he worked at several noted New York restaurants, including Union Pacific, as sous chef under Rocco DiSpirito; Le Cirque under Sylvan Portay; and An American Place under Larry Forgione.

During his career, Morales has participated in numerous culinary events, including the Singapore World Gourmet Food Summit, the Aspen Food & Wine Festival, and the Boca Raton Resort and Club’s 13th annual Food & Wine Weekend with Gourmet magazine.

Grilled Cheese with Green Apples and Colorado Buckwheat Honey Sabayon

While in Orlando, FL at the 2007 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival as the head chef for the “Regional Feast,” Morales was tapped to create an appetizer for the National Honey Board, a festival sponsor. As Morales explains it, Grilled Cheese with Green Apples and Colorado Buckwheat Honey Sabayon is his fanciful riff on a grilled cheese sandwich. At Epcot, they called it a crowd pleaser.