Foodie Bites

“Guilty pleasure” snack: “Ice cream or potato chips. The tasty unfilling things with high cost and no nutritive content. I try to avoid those things, but sometimes they sneak into the house and beg me to eat them.”

Favorite meal growing up: “I absolutely love pizza. My mom used to make the best pizza ever. She would also make an Italian sausage and broccoli bake that we put over buttered noodles, and I still request it. Super simple, but delicious.”

“Can’t live without” ingredient: “Salt. I love all the spices, but salt is simply amazing. I love how when the right amount is used, you don’t even taste it, but without it, everything is dull and banal.”

Most essential kitchen item: “My chef knife. I can use it for most tasks and find many other items are superfluous.”

Get to know Chef Thomas Harvey

Chef Harvey started taking cooking seriously in college. Harvey would often cook for friends growing up and loved grilling but never really pursued any cooking until he started a job cooking at Radford University. Chef Harvey was enrolled in the music business program at Radford but quickly found that music was more of a hobby than a passion. Looking for a way to stay in the arts, cooking became his path.

Small stints in Sushi houses, Pizza, and Commercial Catering led Harvey to the restaurant that solidified his path and really made him fall in love with industry. Harvey was on the opening team of Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville. He started his time there as the grill cook and quickly learned all stations and became Sous Chef there within the first 18 months. After working with Magnolias for a few years Harvey became a personal chef and traveled between Virginia and Florida cooking seasonal and local wherever he happened to be.

Time to grow as a Chef

Knowing that he had to grow his skills more, Harvey left his job as a personal chef and went to L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. After completing the courses there he went to work at Palena in Washington DC with James Beard Winning Chef Frank Ruta. Chef Ruta imparted a precision to detail that has stuck with Harvey since his days at Palena. After Palena Harvey became Chef de Cuisine for Fabio Trabbochi at Casa Luca also in Washington DC.

Opening the restaurant and growing his knowledge of Italian food for 4 years under the Michelin Starred Chef. He then became the Executive Chef for The Partisan/Red Apron and really dove into the craft of butchering and charcuterie. Learning from one of the best around Nathan Anda. Chef Anda stressed and perfected the methods of using all parts of the animals and making it fun and playful in the same way. Coming from more technical and classic cooking Anda truly started Harvey on a path of originality in food. The Tuskies group called Harvey and offered him an opportunity that he had only dreamed about before. Harvey took over as the Corporate Chef and a Partner with the group. Helping to oversee all operations in their 6 locations and opening a new restaurant with them.

Taking a risk – Setting out to open his own restuarant

The pandemic changed Harvey’s life forever. Seeing opportunity when the world was reeling from the virus, Harvey set out to open his own restaurant. In the beginning most landlords just laughed or were too hesitant to talk with the ongoing pandemic. Harvey found his home in Falls Church about 6 months into his search. The town is everything Harvey was looking for when opening up. Small town feel in an urban environment. Opening up March 2022 Harvey’s has quickly embedded itself in the community and become a neighborhood go to. Winning Best New Restaurant and Best New Business this year in Falls Church as well as People’s Choice for Taste of Falls Church.

Chef Harvey has had years of learning from some of the best in the industry and is loving the new chapter of running a restaurant, working with local farms and being a part of the community.

Supporting the Locally Sourced Movement

Harvey’s uses as much local product as we can. We work with Farms like Seven Hills for all of our Beef, Baker Farms for our sausage and bacon, Locally foraged mushrooms from the mushroom stand in Falls Church, Pies and sauces made from local vendors in town that are sold in our market and restaurant. We even sourced our decorations and custom made bar from local vendors and tradesmiths. Virginia is home to so many wonderful people that help to make it feel like home and Harvey’s is built on the fact that home is where the heart and friends are.

Learn more about Chef Thomas’s restaurant Harvey’s >>

Join Chef Thomas at Root to Table’s “Five Sensational Chefs at Patowmack” – December 4th >>