An intimate group were some of the first to try cuisine from Blue Duck Tavern’s newly appointed Executive Chef Ryan LaRoche (no relation to Adam, but he did knock it out of the park with this Masters of Food and Wine dinner). He comes to DC from Park Hyatt Chicago, where he helped the restaurant, NoMI, garner a Michelin star. We snapped his brief introduction out on the terrace on Saturday—the perfect setting for a fall feast. His partner in crime, Chef de Cuisine Brad Deboy, was recently promoted from within.

The $175 dinner featured porchetta, celery root puree, BBQ Brussels sprouts, and a first—buttermilk-fried quail. “It’s next level chicken and gravy,” Brad says. He’s not kidding—the fried quail rested on truffled foie gras gravy. Guests sipped on brews from Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company and wine from Middleburg’s Boxwood Winery. Park Hyatt Hotels, spanning the globe, offer a Masters of Food and Wine event each quarter, and they range from dinners to classes.