The Charlottesville 29

When Jose De Brito was a teenager, he applied to four different culinary schools in the French district where he lived. All of them rejected him. De Brito’s school counselor advised that cooking was not for him.

Thank goodness De Brito didn’t listen.

Today, three decades after the culinary school rejections, the James Beard Foundation named De Brito a 2016 semifinalist for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic. As one of twenty semifinalists, De Brito joins top chefs at elite restaurants in Washington D.C, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic. Congratulations to De Brito on another great honor for him, The Alley Light, and Charlottesville dining.

Having enjoyed De Brito’s food countless times, I respectfully disagree with his school counselor.