FALLS CHURCH CHEFS REFLECT

Slow Roasted Lamb Belly Gets Artley in the Holiday Spirit [VIDEO]

His dish brings up thoughts of cuddling next to a fire.

Chef Will Artley is used to spending his holidays in the kitchen preparing meals for guests. Artley, chef at Pizzeria Orso, he enjoys cooing and doesn’t really mind being in the kitchen for the holidays. This year, his braised lamb belly has the holidays heavy on his mind. The slow roasted lamb belly with garlic, onions, sun choke puree and triple cream dish topped with stewed forest mushrooms reminds Artley of the cold temperatures the holidays bring. “It makes you want to curl up next to a fire,” he said.

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Falls Church Chef ‘Chopped’ in Final Round of TV Cooking Show

Dozens pack Pizzeria Orso for watch party for Chef Will Artley.

Will Artley wasn’t supposed to amount to much after he was kicked out of his New York high school 18 years ago. Sunday night, the chef at Pizzeria Orso in Falls Church appeared on the Food Network cooking show, “Chopped,” but his eggnog ice cream and doughnut wasn’t enough to win the $10,000. With dozens of patrons, family members and supporters surrounding him at the watch party in his honor, Artley, 35, said he doesn’t have any ill feelings toward the administration at his old high school. “It was a reflection of 18 years for me,” Artley said. “It was fun being on the show because I just let it go.” The crowd at the Falls Church pizzeria snacked on pizza fritters and drinks as the popular cooking show was showed on two large screens. …

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Cooks at Pizzeria Orso in Falls Church Used to High Stress

Stress is nothing new to three cooks at Pizzeria Orso who have some interesting backgrounds.

There are thousands of restaurants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with some unique and highly trained cooking staffs. In one Falls Church restaurant, they too have a unique cooking staff but with talents uncommon to the kitchen. On the cooking line at Pizzeria Orso, they have a Washington, D.C. firefighter, a Muay Thai fighter and a security supervisor at a D.C. nightclub. Not your typical kitchen staff, but chef Will Artley likes it that way. “They’re hungry,” Artley said about his protégé’s. “They haven’t cooked a lot and I can teach them how to cook the way I want to. They want to learn.” Outside of feeding the masses, Artley said he likes to pass on his cooking abilities to others. With a staff used to dealing with high …

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‘Peachy’ Day in Falls Church at Farmer’s Market

Chef Will Artley worked his magic Saturday with fired peach pie demonstration.

Shoppers at the Falls Church Farmer’s Market Saturday were treated to clear skies and fried peach pie. Executive Chef Will Artley cooked up his version of the sweet southern treat before hundreds. Artley, from local eatery Pizzeria Orso, was the highlighted guest chef in this weeks’ Chef Series. Artley explained his dish to the many satisfied tasters. “I was inspired by a trip to the south to visit Mississippi,” Artley said. “There was a place there called Mary Lou’s Biscuit Bar and they were serving fried peach pie.” Artley said you can use any fruit but peaches are in season and you don’t have to use a lot of sugar when you cook with them. Kathleen Nixon, founder of the series said all she had to do was ask Artley to show up to take part…

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Orso Adding Brunch Menu Starting Memorial Day Weekend

New management eager to develop ties in the Falls Church community.

You may never find a better working Yankee-Red Sox fan duo anywhere else outside of Jonathan Bentley and Will Artley. For the last few weeks the two have joined forces to form the new management at Pizzeria Orso. The friends of six years haven’t been at the helm long – Artley approaching five weeks and Bentley approaching three weeks – but they have cooked up an idea missing from Orso since its inception - brunch! “People love brunch,” said Artley, executive chef at Orso. He said the brunch menu will consist of three types of egg Benedict, French toast, garlic cheddar grits and several standard items and some fun, original ones as well. “We’re here to make people happy.” Artley and Bentley have started revamping Orso’s menu and service to …

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Nancy Anderson

8:47 am on Thursday, April 19, 2012

I'll come with you:) It looks like it will be amazing.   more ›

Artley Takes Over at Pizzeria Orso in Falls Church

Former Evening Star Cafe chef now baking authentic Neapolitan pizzas.

Will Artley, the former chef at Evening Star Cafe and purveyor of February’s Project 2312 pop-up restaurant, has landed a new full-time gig in Falls Church. The chef is now making Neapolitan pies at Pizzeria Orso, located just off Route 29 at 400 S. Maple Ave. Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post recently wrote of Artley’s transition to the pizzeria on the newspaper’s Going Out Gurus blog. Monday marked Artley’s first day at Orso, which was named "Best Upscale Pizza" in Washingtonian Magazine's annual "Best of Washington" issue. Orso’s owners recently sent Artley to Marina del Rey, Calif., for instruction on how to make authentic Neapolitan pizza—something that came very naturally to Artley, according to Sietsema’s blog post. After parting …

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