Alexandria

Lucy is an integral part of the Thompson team and has been working with Gabe and Katherine since 2013, when she was on the opening line at L’Apicio. She started as garde manger and worked her way up to executive sous chef.  She’s a leader in the kitchen and has flexed her skills at Fausto in Brooklyn and also holds the honor of being the first female butcher at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. A veteran of restaurant openings, Lucy has been the Chef de Cuisine at Falls Church since the beginning, and shaped much of the menu — and the culinary team — during her tenure there.

Mel was part of the opening service team in Falls Church and now returns to Thompson Italian in a new capacity. She brings more than a decade of hospitality experience to her role as GM as well as the organization and leadership skills she honed  in her prior work with nonprofits and corporations. She is a collaborative leader and has an engaging presence with guests.

An Arlington, VA native, Katherine became obsessed with all things culinary after reading Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a child. She went on to graduate first in her class from the Culinary Institute of America before launching her career at the lauded New York establishments Per Se, Del Posto, and Italian Wine Merchants. Katherine then co-founded Epicurean Management in NYC where she was the Executive Pastry Chef for dell’anima, L’Artusi, and L’Apicio.

During her time in NYC Katherine also co-authored Downtown Italian and was featured in the cookbook Women Chefs of New York. She has a rustic and seasonal approach to sweets that earned her a James Beard nomination for Best Pastry of the Year in 2020, and her desserts have been published in Food and Wine, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The Washington Post and Northern Virginia Magazine and many more.

Gabe has honed his culinary skills over the span of a 25+ year career in the food industry. Trained by Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin and Mark Ladner at Del Posto, he went on to become the  the executive chef of four popular New York restaurants — dell’anima, L’Artusi, L’Apicio, and Anfora — as well as co-founder of Epicurean Management and co-author of the Downtown Italian cookbook in 2014.

After moving to the DC area in 2015, Gabe was the  opening executive chef for RPM Italian before opening Thompson Italian in Falls Church in 2019. He has been featured in Bon Appetit, Serious Eats, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Washingtonian among others, along with appearances on the The Martha Stewart Show, Bravo’s Best New Restaurant and Good Day DC.