Falls Church’s Chef Matt Cashing in on Passion

He has published a cookbook, “Beyond the Red Sauce,” started his own personal chef meal delivery service and teaches in-home cooking classes but Chef Matt Finarelli almost missed his calling.

The Falls Church resident was working at the World Wildlife Fund in 2004 when he started teaching an Italian cooking class through the Fairfax County Adult Education program. With the seed planted, Finarelli, 36, started culinary school and in 2006 started as a chef making $11 an hour.

Now with about 15 personal chef clients, Finarelli along with his business partner Chef Bernard, get to enjoy their passion daily.

“I always loved to cook,” Finarelli said. “I love the creativity that goes with it but I love the feedback from it.”

Finarelli teases the pallets of his personal chef clients with a weekly menu they get to choose from. Clients choose from six entrees featuring beef, chicken and seafood dishes and a wildcard item, which Finarelli says can be anything. With the orders in, Finarelli heads to Gaithersburg, Md. to cook in a commercial kitchen and then it’s on the road Monday and Tuesday to make deliveries.

“A lot of my customers love seafood,” he said.

Driven by feedback from clients, Finarelli gets plenty of it from his weekly couple’s cooking classes at LivingSocial in Washington, DC.

With a full house Thursday, Finarelli rolled out an impressive menu to his couple’s cooking class. They are essentially taught how to prepare chocolate mousse, brie, potatoes and green beans. The couples worked in tandem as Finarelli taught from his perch in the front of the large demonstration kitchen.

Every direction broadcasted through the speakers and television monitors were well received by the 44 students who coasted through the class with an occasional sip of wine. The positive responses from clients and students are what fuels Finarelli who has no regrets on the path he has traveled to find his passion.

“Being my own boss let’s me set my own schedule,” Finarelli said. “Even if you own the restaurant you can’t do that.”

For more on Chef Matt, watch the video above.

Keep up with Falls Church news and events with the Patch email newsletter. Learn more here!