Michael Harr
Executive Chef & Operating Manager

Chef Michael Harr's cuisine resonates with vibrant flavors and harmonious couplings of regional and international elements.

Drawing upon his early experiences in European kitchens, Chef Harr has an unparalleled appreciation of simple food. "Simple food consists of great ingredients prepared in a method that allows their true flavors to shine. Presentation, ingredients and technique combine with an appreciation for the smallest of ingredients. This is the platform for my cooking," says Chef Harr, whose striking visual sense only intensifies his grasp of flavors.

Though kept quite busy in his role as Executive Chef and Operating Manager at Washington, DC's famed Butterfield 9 Restaurant, Chef Harr maintains his passion for international influences by taking busmen's holidays to explore kitchens around Europe and South America, including his former homes of Paris and London.

Reminiscing through the classic and familiar grounds of European chefs, Harr visits the Michelin star restaurants that most inspired him; the Taillevent, Guy Savoy of Paris and Alain Ducasse. Early in his career, Chef Harr held stages in these prestigious kitchens, in addition to stints in Geneva, Brussels, Tuscany and Cap d'Antibes near Nice, while he was personal chef to a diplomat in Megeve of France's Savoie Region.

Harr held the position of Sous Chef to the renowned Jacques Vanstaden of the famed London Club in Las Vegas. He appeased his culinary curiosity in Vanstaden's Vegas kitchen and those of other North American cities such as Montreal, New York City and later Miami, where he was Executive Chef at the Zodiac Restaurant.

Harr's early career in Washington enfolded during the glory days of Mark Miller's Red Sage. His return to the area landed him at Maestro Restaurant, working with acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi. He returned to the vibrance of Downtown, Washington, D.C. to command the kitchen at a Washington, D.C. landmark - Butterfield 9 Restaurant.

At Butterfield 9, Chef Harr's talents and expertise embrace the restaurant's philosophy and complement its next phase of growth. His strong roots in classical French technique greatly enhance his interpretation of the Modern American cuisine, as the traditions of Europe merge with his new world innovations.

Falling upon his classic training in European technique and a passion for the use of skillful butchery to cook with the whole animal, his menus feature such dishes as the "Study of Amish Goat" in which Chef Harr uses all parts of the animal to create a succulent dish featuring four unique samplings. His Venison is coupled apple gastric and walnut dust and surprises guests with a Mexican chocolate "mole" sauce. Bison Tenderloin with Oregon hedgehog mushrooms, celery root fondant and candied acorn squash.

Since his intro to Butterfield in the spring of 2005, Chef Harr has steadily made his impact on the downtown DC dining scene, melding his classic French background with a boundless imagination.