Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Red's Table Names John Conway Executive Chef & Dave Weir Pastry Chef

New Executive Chef John Conway

From our friends at Red's Table...

Partners Ryan Tracy & John Jarecki are pleased to announce the appointment of John Conway as the new executive chef of Red’s Table, located 11150 South Lakes Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191. Conway brings 25 years of experience to his new position having worked in notable restaurants throughout Ireland, New York and Virginia. He is looking forward to adding his unique twist to the wholesome, straightforward dishes to which Red’s Table’s farm-focused menu. Joining Chef Conway is Dave Weir as the new pastry chef. Weir has 21 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He most recently served as a pastry cook and bread baker at Bread Furst in Washington, DC, under the direction of notable baker Mark Furstenberg.

Chef Conway has always had a passion for the culinary arts. As a boy, he assisted his mother who ran a bed and breakfast in his hometown of Wicklow, Ireland. He later enrolled in the Dublin College of Catering and graduated with honors. While in college, he was also part of a team of chefs who represented Ireland in the Bocuse d’Or World Cooking Contest, a biennial world chef championship.


In 1990, John Conway began working as a pastry chef at the Rathsallagh House Hotel & Gold Club, a superior four-star property set in an 18th century, ivy-clad country house. This was Conway’s first stint in the restaurant industry. Over the next two years, Conway rose through the ranks at Rathsallagh House and was eventually promoted to sous chef.

In 1996, Conway relocated to New York City. A year later he accepted a position as head chef at Eamonn Duran in Brooklyn Heights, New York. He worked at the restaurant for four years before relocating to Great Falls, Virginia in 2002 to serve as executive sous chef at The Old Brogue Irish Pub. Three years later, in March 2005, he was promoted to executive chef. Over the next 14-years Conway transformed the Irish bar into a fine dining establishment and boosted the restaurant’s annual revenue from $2 million in 2007, to $4 million in 2015. He was also responsible for a variety of off-site catering events for up to 300 guests. In September 2018, he accepted a position as executive chef of Red's Table.

New Pastry Chef Dave Weir

Dave Weir hails from Belfast, Ireland, and graduated with honors from L'Académie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Following high school, Weir spent 15 years traveling the world. From 2000 to 2015, he worked as a bartender, server and manager at restaurants throughout Colorado Springs, Colorado, Montreal, Canada, Belfast, Ireland and Dubai, UAE.  In 201,6 he relocated to Reston, Virginia, and enrolled in the pastry arts program at L'Académie de Cuisine. Here he learned the art of French pastry under the direction of Francois Dionot, founder and director of L'Académie de Cuisine, from a syllabus designed by Roland Mesnier, the former executive pastry chef at the White House.

Upon graduation in March 2017, Weir accepted a position as a pastry cook and bread baker at Bread Furst under the direction of Mark Furstenberg, who was named Outstanding Baker by the James Beard Foundation in 2017. For the next 19 months, he would continue his education in the fundamentals of bread and pastry, gaining an understanding of baking science and application. Then in September 2018, he accepted a position as pastry chef of Red's Table. Weir strives to create desserts that are delicious, simple and approachable. He is heavily influenced by European and traditional American recipes that are un-fussy yet refined and produced with the highest quality ingredients.

Red’s Table is located at 11150 South Lakes Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191. The restaurant is located one mile from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station, accessible on the Silver Line. Lunch is served Monday through Friday, from 11 AM to 4 PM. Dinner is served daily, from 4 PM to 10 PM. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, from 11 AM to 4 PM. A late-night menu is also available nightly, from 10 PM to Close. For additional information, please call (571) 375-7755 or visit redstableva.com.