Marquis Who’s Who Celebrates the Culinary Achievements of Richmond Chef and Business Owner Matt Kirwan
Building a standout culinary career takes a mix of serious dedication, adaptability, and a knack for seizing the right moments. In recognition of these traits, Matt R. Kirwan’s been added to the prestigious Marquis Who’s Who biographical registry. Inclusion in these volumes is reserved for individuals who’ve earned noteworthy visibility and prominence within their respective fields, making it a major milestone for this local food industry veteran.
Since July 2025, Kirwan’s firmly cemented his place in the Richmond food scene as the owner and chef of Daisy’s at Tredegar. While he’s a chef by trade, his role has shifted into higher-level business oversight. He now employs an executive chef to handle the day-to-day back of house operations so he can focus his energy on managing general logistics and bookings.
How Marquis Who’s Who Highlights Local Business Growth and Success
Under his leadership, the restaurant stays incredibly busy seven days a week. Weekdays feature breakfast and lunch options, weekends bring a popular brunch crowd, and evening hours are dedicated to custom catering, private dining events, and full happy hour buyouts. Kirwan handles high-volume operations that cover everything from corporate meetings to wedding bookings and client invoicing. Even with a packed management schedule, he still keeps his culinary skills sharp by booking selective in-home dinner events through his secondary venture, HomePlate.
For Kirwan, the path to running his own restaurant wasn’t built overnight. His diverse professional history includes leadership roles across some of Richmond’s favorite dining spots, including:
-
HomePlate (2023–2025): A unique private in-home catering service that turned clients’ dining rooms into upscale pop-up restaurants.
-
Grisette Restaurant (2020–2022): Serving as executive chef where he shaped a reputation for high-quality menus and innovative cuisine.
-
The Roosevelt (2018–2020): Working as a chef within their acclaimed dining program.
-
The Shaved Duck (2017–2018): Directing daily operations and guiding the kitchen team as executive chef.
He also honed his craft in the competitive New York City dining scene, working as a sous chef at Virginia’s and Little Prince, following earlier roles at Richmond’s The Rogue Gentlemen and Eurasia Wine Bar.
From Entry-Level Upgrades to Future Fine-Dining Concepts
His journey actually started at just 16 years old at The Country Club of Virginia, where he spent summers flipping hamburgers and chicken sandwiches by the ninth hole. He proved to be a quick study, moving up the ranks through hard work rather than formal schooling. Though he did enroll in culinary school later on, his fast professional promotions meant his career accelerated naturally without needing a formal certificate. Kirwan credits his rise to a straightforward philosophy: work hard and never say no to an opportunity.
Giving back to the Richmond community is also a huge priority for him. He regularly lends his culinary talents to charitable organizations, including the Forward Foundation, Greater Richmond SCAN, cystic fibrosis research foundations, and Little Hands, where he provides meals and auction donations.
Looking toward the future, the registry spotlight highlights a leader who isn’t planning on slowing down. Kirwan’s actively working with a business partner to scale up his current catering capacity, which already manages multiple cafeterias and events for up to 300 guests. Down the line, he also hopes to launch an upscale fine-dining concept that’ll give him a chance to return to his technical roots in classic French-Italian cuisine.
Ever since A. N. Marquis printed the very first edition of Who’s Who in America back in 1899, Marquis Who’s Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every major field—including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion, and entertainment. Today, the suite of Marquis publications, which includes Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians, and executive search firms around the globe. If you want to learn more, you can check out the official website at MarquisWhosWho.com.
|
|
|
|