New York State Society of Washington, D.C.

Charging Buffalo Award

2011 Award Recipient: Tracy O’Grady , Owner and Executive Chef - Willow

Tracy O’Grady, owner and executive chef of Willow Restaurant in Arlington, VA, grew up in South Buffalo, attended Mount Mercy Academy, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Canisius College, cum laude. She relocated to Washington, DC in the early 1990s and has represented Buffalo very well during her time in the city — both through her talents as a chef and through her influence in the community.

She always knew that she wanted to cook and began her culinary journey in the kitchen of Le Pavilion in Washington, DC. With little more than a passion for the profession, she cooked and trained alongside chef Yannick Cam and quickly advanced to the position of pastry chef.

It was the challenge and thrill of learning new techniques that inspired O’Grady to move on to Galileo, where she worked with chef Roberto Donna for three years. During this tenure, O’Grady broadened her skills, working at various stations in the kitchen before accepting the position of sous chef for Washington, DC’s renowned Kinkead’s.

Working with chef/owner Bob Kinkead, O’Grady began honing her expertise. She worked her way up to the executive chef position and during her tenure Food & Wine, Washingtonian, and Zagat selected Kinkead’s as the most popular restaurant in Washington, DC.

Topping O’Grady’s personal list of accomplishments is representing the United States at the Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in Lyon, France. O’Grady was one of only 22 chefs selected from around the world to compete in the prestigious event. She has participated in James Beard events and has appeared on NBC’s Today Show. She has been featured in Elle, The Washington Post, and Smithsonian, to name a few. Chef O’Grady was also awarded the prestigious Women Chefs and Restaurateurs’ Golden Whisk Award.

The opening of Willow Restaurant was the realization of O’Grady’s ultimate culinary dream. Washingtonian magazine listed Willow in 57th place in its 2007 “Top 100 Best Restaurants” list; the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington nominated Willow for the annual RAMMY awards in the categories of Best New Restaurant and Best Neighborhood Restaurant; and Northern Virginia Living magazine named it “one of the region’s best.”

Charging Buffalo Award History

Since 1993, Buffalo Nite honors a Buffalonian or friend of Buffalo with the “Charging Buffalo” Award to recognize career achievement. Past recipients include:

2010 - Erik Brady, Sportswriter for USA Today
2009 - Donald E. Will, President and CEO of Will Poultry Company
2008 - Charles W. Roesch, owner of multifaceted restaurant and catering business
2007 - Bill Paxon, Buffalo area Congressman and lobbyist
2006 - Michael A. Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, International Association of Iron Workers
2005 - Tom Toles, Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post
2004 - Jack Quinn, Buffalo area Congressman
2003 - Jack Kemp, John LaFalce, Hank Nowak, Buffalo area Congressman and Buffalo Nite Founders
2002 - Gwen Ifill, Managing Editor and Moderator, PBS Washington Week
2001 - Buffalo Nite, scheduled for September 12, cancelled
2000 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator, State of New York
1999 - Marv Levy, Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills
1998 - James T. Molloy, Doorkeeper, U.S House of Representatives
1997 - Thomas A. Constantine, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
1996 - David O. “Doc” Cooke, Pentagon Administrator
1995 - Wolf Blitzer, CNN Television Correspondent
1994 - Mark Russell, Political Satirist
1993 - Tim Russert, Moderator of Meet the Press, NBC Washington Bureau Chief