Elite Event: Meet the Chef Series at Pizzeria Orso

I feel like what I’d say will just echo what everyone else has said already but I’ll just put in my 2 cents.
This was was of my all time favorite Unilocal Elite events.
Why it was amazing:
+ Meeting local Chefs is like meeting celebrities but better because I care about food so much more than the hottest actor. It was so great to hear Chef Chemel’s story and all that he has done. It was really nice to meet him and see him at work.
+ The Food was amazing, everything was incredibly delicious and the portions were huge. This was not one of those «taster» events, since we had enough that I was able to take home a 2^nd meal for lunch. I loved being able to see our pizzas being made and the step by step walk through.
+ The restaurant and staff were great. Everyone was super friendly and informative. The atmosphere of the place was warm and casual and intimate at the same time.
Keep it coming Gretchen. I have a feeling this Monday Meet the Chef series will all be my favorite Elite events!

Everything has been said but just want to reconfirm that this event was an utterly amazing experience. It was a great privilege to meet/​learn from such esteemed culinary professionals. The demos were so fun to watch and incredibly informative. Customer service was beyond great.
Food and drinks were fantastic, beginning to end. Really enjoyed mingling with fellow Unilocalers, new and old. Truly glad I got the chance to visit Pizzeria Orso. Really great food, staff, quality of ingredients, and overall experience. A huge thanks to Gretchen for rocking in usual fashion.

Came here for a Unilocal event. Our table was lucky since we only had 3 people, compared to 6 – 8 at others! We had the:
Spinach salad: a little salty, a little too basil-​y, but still good. I gobbled it up because I needed a little green in my life
Burrata Crostini: the Burrata was amazing!
Rolotino: I liked the crust and cheese (ricotta? Burrata?) a lot but I have no idea why prosciutto and ham sneaks their way into everything so I as a recovering meat addict had to pick it all out
Margheritta pizza: good crust, but little flavor in the sauce… Which is why I try to avoid pizza outside of NYC
Orso di Fumare: again good crust, had bell peppers and sausage… Was kinda meh like the pizza couldn’t decide what it wanted to be but I’ll take it if it’s free hehe
The olive oil cake was fantastic with a little lemon flavor and some berry purée
The strawberry Sunday was also great– with a really tasty melt in your mouth biscuit in there
Overall I would definitely recommend this place– I Love their ricotta and their bread/​crusts are great!

Gretchen has done it again! This was truly a wonderful event. I had never heard of Pizzeria Orso prior to this event, but I definitely won’t forget it now. Parking was really easy, as there is reserved parking for the restaurant in the attached garage.
The bartenders made some fabulous drinks. I’m not a fan of spicy things, but I heard other Unilocalers saying great things about the jalapeño margarita. My favorite was the summer shandy. Delicious!
The food was amazing. We got to try a little bit of everything and I was so full when leaving the restaurant. My favorite appetizer were the risotto balls. Oh my goodness, I couldn’t get enough of these. The ricotta cheese dip with naan bread was awesome too. The pizza is fantastic here! The dough was perfection and the ingredients were fresh. Then to finish up with dessert, I loved the olive oil cake. I had never heard of this but it was so good! It was not overly sweet, but just sweet enough. And it had a perfect sized dollop of whipped cream on top.
Then to finish up the evening, Gretchen took the best selfie ever with her handy selfie taker. What a fun night. As always, Gretchen put together a great event. Thank you!

Definitely on my Top 3 NoVa Elite Events!
And sadly my last NoVA event ;(. Am I glad that I was able to sneak one in and to an event as great as this one.
Pizzeria Orso and it’s head chef Bertrand Chemel sure are hidden gems in this tucked away Falls Church restaurant. I walked in and saw our cute and perky CM Gretchen in front of me, a bar to the left just begging me to order a drink, and the smell of heavenly carbs just surrounding me like a tornado.
I was greeted with a plateful of Arrancini balls, which happened to be my favorite of the two appetizers.
I next walked over to the bar and naturally, ordered the Jalapeño Margarita, which had a smooth balance and a nice spicy kick. Again, of the three drinks offered, the first pick was my winner winner Italian dinner.
Their entrees were all also very good. But between the Rotolini, Margherita, and the Orso di Fumare, you’ll see me voluntarily face plant and lick the Orso di Fumare off. There was so much flavor, I tried to resist getting that third slice. BUT I REALLY WANTED MORE: X
So let’s get to the sweets. That strawberry sorbet tho. With the ricotta whip. And the shortbread. Each on its own I generally wouldn’t give a second look. The three together. MIND BLOWING.
Thank you Gretchen, Unilocal,Pizzeria Orso, and Chef Bertrand. You all are AMAZING!

Gretchen, you sure set the bar high for the Meet the Chef Series!
This definitely was a great way to spend a Monday evening, especially after a long day at work. The staff at Pizzeria Orso were friendly and attentive from the very start of the event.
There were three alcoholic beverage choices offered, each one perfect for summer. I enjoyed the jalapeño margarita the most, but stuck to one since tequila is not my friend! The frozen peach sangria was also a good choice. It was very refreshing and surprisingly had a decent amount of alcohol in it. Although I didn’t get a chance to sample the arancini or bruschetta that was passed around, they sounded tasty.
Prior to dinner, Unilocalers had the chance to watch the bartenders make a jalapeño margarita and tell us the story behind the frozen peach sangria. We also had the opportunity to have the chef show us how to make neapolitan pizza in their custom brick oven.
Dinner was amazing. If you love carbs, you would have been in carb heaven! My favorites included the charcuterie (more salami please!), caprese salad, Orso di Fumare, lemon-​olive oil cake, and strawberry sorbet. If three alcoholic beverage options weren’t enough for you, Pizzeria Orso was also kind enough to offer wine to wash down our meal. I was so stuffed, but I had to try a little bit of everything that came out of the kitchen.
Fun times on a Monday evening!

A fantastic event and treat for my culinary senses! This was the first (of hopefully many more) in the Meet the Chef Series at Pizzeria Orso. Basically Gretchen and the team at Pizzeria Orso spoiled us and probably gained a plethora of new business.
We were greeted by chef Bertrand Chemel, who is a famous and well respected chef. How he came to the DMV is still a mystery but I count myself lucky. We were then treated to a cocktail demonstration from their bartenders (cocktails were on the house). I tried the peach sangria and jalepeno margarita. I loved both drinks. The margarita, infused with jalepeno, packs a punch without being overwhelming. It’s a seasonal drink I believe so I highly recommend trying it before it’s gone. After drinks, we were treated to a pizza demonstration by the chef. He talked about his style of cooking and his take on pizza. Passed hors d ourvres included arincini balls (fried risotto balls) which were tasty. Then we found seats at the tables– the restaurant is closed on Mondays so we had the whole place to ourselves.
Waiting at our tables were charcuterie boards with different Italian hams. The proscuitto was probably my favorite of the three. We were then given a ricotta dip with fresh bread– delicious, especially the bread. Then staff served us different entrees which we shared with the group. We had margarita pizza, pizza with sausage and peppers, and a calzone. All three items were delicious. My favorite was the pizza with sausage and peppers. I loved the balance of flavors and thought it was well made. If that wasn’t enough we were also given a choice of red or white wine with dinner. I went with the red (chianti) and I enjoyed my glass.
After all that we were treated to dessert– ice cream, sorbet, and a cake. These three things were delicious and a perfect end to our meal!
Staff was great; they were friendly, attentive, and answered our many questions. Gretchen was as usual, bubbly and fabulous, and threw a fantastic event! Looking forward to the next one.

What a great event! I’m a big fan of Chef Chemel, so I was really excited about this. Orso has been my favorite pizza place for 5 years, and I’m so glad that more people were introduced to them!
The cocktails were fun and refreshing in the heat, especially the slushy. The passed bites were also yummy, especially the arrancini.
I loved all of the small plates, especially the ricotta dip and the spinach salad. The tomatoes on the caprese were grown in their garden, which is awesome.
The margherita pizza was the star of the mains, obviously, it’s what I order every time! But I also really liked the rolotino because of the ricotta and mortadella.
The olive oil cake blew me away, and I loved the whipped ricotta. Seriously — give me anything ricotta.
They were so, so generous with food and drink. Not to mention the gift cards! And Chef Chemel was right in the mix, handing out small bites and gift bags. I love that!
I would love to make meet the chefs a regular thing, chefs are my rock stars!

I had such a blast!
I ate so much I literally could not breath. The food was delicious and the service was unforgettable.
The Chef was super friendly. He literally came by to each table and struck up a conversation.
We were definitely spoiled by the food at this event. They even topped it off with an open bar. They offered three signature drinks. My favorite was the white peach sangria.
It was a prefect was to start the week.

This event was amazing.
I have always wanted to eat at Pizzeria Orso, so when I first heard that we would have a chance to meet Chef Bertrand Chemel and eat at Pizzeria Orso for free, I knew this was going to be a really fun and delicious event.
I think my favorite part of the event was to hear the Chef talk about the food. I love how he and Pizzeria Orso try to make it an authentic neapolitan pizza and Italian restaurant yet make it distinctively his as well. I love hearing about where he buys his ingredients and how he tries to keep it all local and fresh like back in Naples. And I love how the chef took the time to do all of this, spend time with us Unilocalers, and be very humble about it all.
Obviously the food was amazing. I wish I had more pizza to eat. After looking forward to the pizza all night, I only had once slice of each pizza. I should have been more strategic and sat at a smaller table, but I’m just being nitpicky right now. Do I need more food and more free food? Of course not. I really appreciate these events for what they are.
Great event as always. Gretchen is awesome as always. I can’t wait to see more of these types of behind the scene events!

I swear, these Unilocal Elite events just keep getting better and better. This event was absolutely incredible! From the super friendly and welcoming staff at Pizzeria Orso, to MEETING CHEF BERTRAND CHEMEL, to the energetic PR staff, to the incredible Unilocal team a la Gretchen… and to all the new Unilocal friends I made — this was the best Monday night ever!
We were treated to a multiple course meal, open bar with 3 incredible signature drinks (I got to try them all!), delicious desserts from the pastry chef who also works at 2941 (the strawberry sorbet sundae was to die for!), drink demonstrations, pizza demonstrations, chef demonstrations and an overview of his amazing accomplishments, and so much amazing food! Those arrancini balls were pure perfection — the best I have ever had!
Thank you ALL for hosting such an amazing, beautiful and GENEROUS event. I am so happy to have been introduced to this place because I live close and will definitely bring the BF back as neopolitan pizza is his fave. I would go back just for the décor, ambience, and to watch the pizza bake in that huge brick oven! The whole process was amazing!
I have already planned a double date with Katie S. for the very near future! Join us!

Another evening of fun, food, festivities, and revelry per the efforts of our Unilocal CM Gretchen and the awesome staff of Pizzeria Orso!
I had never been to this restaurant — I have a couple of friends who are big fans of this place and visit regularly.
There was a good showing by the local Unilocal community for this event! We were treated to a number of tasty and tantalizing cocktails by the bar staff. I found the Jalapeño Margarita was especially good! We got to experience a couple of tutorials on the making of these cocktails — including the Jalapeño Margarita — which uses an infused Tequila — Tanteo Tequila — infused with Jalapeño!
I’m going to need to find a bottle of this! The bar staff was fun and interactive during the presentation — as well as throughout the evening as they roamed the floor.
Besides the Jalapeño Margarita, one could choose from other signature cocktails: the White Peach Sangria Slushy and the Summer Shandy.
I enjoyed a Jalapeño Margarita, but then switched to Ale. I was prepared to pay for my brew since it was not listed on the event menu — I ordered a local Ale — the Face Plant IPA (Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA). But the bartenders were having none of it — they would not allow me to pay for the Ale. I ended up having a second Face Plant IPA later in the evening.
We also had the interesting experience of hearing a bit from Chef Bertrand Chemel — including an overview of their pizza making process. He discussed a number of things, including how the flavor profile of their dough is a bit different from others, and the texture of the finished pizza crust tends to be softer than some other pizzas…
The menu for the evening included small bites: Arrrancini and Burrata Crostini. Both were very good, the Arrancini were addictive, it would have been easy to eat waaaaayyy to many of them! The Crostini was also delectable! I liked that each piece included a bit of anchovy — which was scaring some of the Unilocalers off — I saw several of them refuse the Crostini based on the fact that it included the Anchovy. I think the saltiness of the Anchovy rounded out the flavor profile of the Crostini and made it as tasty as it was!
After that, we moved on to «Starters»: A Charcuterie platter (loaded with three types of meats) and small sweet gherkin-​esque pickles; a Capresse Salad (with several types of tomatoes); and a Spinach salad. All were tasty, although the pickles were the least favorite part of this offering.
For the Main Course — we got to sample: Rotolino, Margheritta, and Orso di Fumare. I took pictures of all of this — but I am unclear as to which was which when they started delivering to our table. The last two pizzas were especially good — both had a tasty sausage adorning the pizza.
And for dessert — they served up an Olive Oil Cake with Strawberry Jam and a Strawberry Sundae. I tasted both and let the ladies at the table have the rest!
The food was scrumptious! In general I eat a low carb diet — for this evening that was suspended as almost everything was carby! The pizzas were especially toothsome!
One of the fun parts of attending these events is meeting new Unilocalers and this event was no exception! I met a few new folks and also met a few Unilocalers that I am friends with — but had never met in person!
We each received a Unilocal carabiner (they were laid out on the tables), and a Unilocal «rescue charger» for recharging phones and such. Plus on the way out, we each received a bag with a copy of the full Pizzeria Orso menu and a small bag of cookies.
The only negative of the evening is apparently the HVAC system failed while the event was on. It got rather warm, humid, and uncomfortable inside.
Gretchen was her usual fun, flamboyant self as she roamed the floor with her new selfie stick, taking photos galore with the Unilocal community! Thanks Gretchen for a great event and evening! And thanks to Chef Bertrand Chemel and all the staff at Pizzeria Orso for welcoming us!
#MeetTheChefMondayPO #YelpNova #YelpElite

What a pleasure it was to meet the world renowned chef Bertrand Chemel! You know when you start fan-​girling over something you didn’t know about previously? Totally happened. It was really wonderful hearing of Chef’s experiences from Italy, France, NY, and VA. what a talented team he has formed at Pizzeria Orso! From the food runners, to the bartenders, to the other Chef’s– wow!
Of the 3 signature cocktails, the Summer Shandy stole the show– YUM, so refreshing! The appies were delish too, I had to control myself and give myself a pat on the back because I really could’ve filled up on those alone. Once seated, after a bar presentation and pizza demonstration, we were treated to more starters. the dip for the crispy garlic bread was so amazing I’m not even attempting to recreate it because I would ruin it. I had to leave at 9 for a prior engagement but the margarita pizza I did get to try was really great and authentic. I’m sad I couldn’t stay for the last 2 pizzas and the desserts but the generosity and fun during my time was impeccable.
I am so thankful I got to experience this event and cannot wait to bring friends to dinner. Gretchen, thank you– it was a lovely time! And thank you, Pizzeria Orso and amazing team!

This was a great event at a great location. I had not been to Pizzeria Orso previously but you can be sure I will be back.
The jalapeño margarita was surprisingly tasty and the white peach sangria slushy was refreshing. The arrancini were good. Of the starters my favorite was the capresse salad although both the charcuterie platter and spinach salad were enjoyable and accented each other well. Rotolino was favorite of the main course items. The olive oil cake with strawberry jam was a nice treat.
Everyone there was very nice as well as accommodating. The event was well organized and wonderfully executed on both the Pizzeria Orso and Unilocal!fronts. Thank you both for a wonderful experience!

Wow! Did that just happen?
What a wonderful evening with Pizzeria Orso and my fellow Unilocal Elites!
A HUGE shout out to Gretchen and the staff at Pizzeria Orso for hosting such a spectacular event! The evening was fun filled from the time that we walked in straight to the time we left! It’s always a pleasure meeting other elite Unilocalers at these events and the drinks and food are an added bonus!
I haven’t been to Pizzeria Orso in YEARS! Their pizzas are nothing short of amazing, the staff was very fun and knowledgeable and you could really feel their passion for what they do.
It was an HONOR meeting Chef Chemel and getting a tour of the restaurant and seeing a step by step demonstration of how their drinks and pizza are made. The food and atmosphere were both wonderful!

This is in the top 10 of events that I’ve ever been to. I’m very happy to have been part of it. The people are as genuine as the food and you couldn’t ask for anything better. We were offered quite the spread with bottomless to kick the night off. AND boy!!! Did I get myself into a mess when I took them up on that offer.
Drinks:
— Jalapeño Margarita
— White Peach Sangria Slushy
— Summer Shady
I didn’t like any of those. I don’t like jalapeño. I don’t usually like slushy drinks, and I didn’t like the Summer Shady when that was my last alternative to the 2. What to do… what to do? I offered to pay for a different drink and the bartender told me to no problem. He made me what I believe to be a mix between a margarita and a mojito. It was delicious! Make this a permanent menu item, please!!! I had 4 of them… plus a glass of wine.
The whole attitude of the night was ‘no problem, we can do this’ mentality. I didn’t ask for anything special after the fact because the rest of the night was on point with me. I can tell you the staff from the chef himself to the bar back are one big JOYOUS family.
Starters:
— Charcuterie platter
— Capresse salad
— Spinach salad
Small Bites
— Arrancini
— Burrata Crestini
Main Course
— Rotolino
— Margheritta
— Orso di Fumare
Dessert
— Olive oil cake with strawberry jam
— Strawberry sundae
Now if this menu doesn’t sound wonderful; then you clearly don’t know what you missed out on!
My favorite part of the evening was having a one-​on-​one chat with Chef Bertrand Chemel. I asked him every little question I could think of because his journey to how he landed here in Falls Church, Virginia is simply humbling and wonderful. He wants to maintain a quality of life/​work balance. His #1 priority is his family, and it was so nice to hear him speak of his two young children and his Romanian wife. He also spoke very highly of his restaurant family. A chef must understand the dynamic of a restaurant and how it takes more than just the food to make the body and soul of an establishment go round. Chef has that down pat.
I also had the pleasure of conversing with Kyle. She’s hilarious and she totally gets it. She is in the perfect position of her life. She knows the industry and she knows how to PR. The Meet The Chef Mondays is a perfect event series to really make this a personal experience for the patron, and this wouldn’t exist without her brain power pushing behind it. Well done, my new friend!
Again, I want to thank Gretchen for the experience. It was a great time and looking forward to attending more events like these.