Bio: Executive Chef Dennis Marron has over 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, where he has held a range of positions in the front and back of the house, including dishwasher, bar back, bartender, restaurant manager and of course, chef. His background overseeing concepts as varied as fine dining French and American tavern bring a depth and diversity of talent to the brasserie-style restaurant that is Poste.
Chef Marron's career in restaurants began, oddly, while studying physical education at High Point University in North Carolina, where he worked as a caterer under a Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate. It was his mentor from a college side job that led him to abandon his goal of becoming a PE teacher, and return to his native New Jersey to pursue a culinary career. Eventually, he applied, and was accepted to the CIA at Hyde Park, and as part of his studies, completed an externship in Hawaii. After graduating, he returned to New Jersey where he worked at the Molly Pitcher Inn, a five star diamond hotel overlooking the Navesink River in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Marron always felt he'd be an even better chef if he spent time working in the front of the house, and learning from his counterparts on the west coast. His next adventure took him to Scala's Bistro in San Francisco, where he worked as a bartender, and was quickly promoted to restaurant manager. While he managed restaurants for a few years, his heart was always in the kitchen, and he eventually went back to it, working for Bay Area restaurants such as Mecca and Indigo, where he developed a knack for using fresh, organic and local ingredients.
After seven years in California, Marron headed to Minneapolis, where he worked at W.A. Frost and Company Restaurant and Craftsman Restaurant, receiving three-star reviews from both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. However, it didn't take long before Chef Marron wanted to return to the east coast, and he relocated once more, but this time to Washington, DC, where he honed his skills under Chef Jeff Buben at his highly acclaimed French restaurant, Bistro Bis.
With years of extensive kitchen and restaurant management in hand, Marron moved on to become executive chef at The Grille at Morrison House, where he oversaw tasting menus, bistro fare, small weddings and high tea at this French-inspired Old Town restaurant. Eventually, his dedicated work ethic, creativity, and talent, would land him the job of also overseeing the kitchen at the Grille's sister restaurant, Jackson 20. At Jackson 20, Marron embraced the restaurant's modern take on southern fare, and introduced monthly pig roast parties, an extensive canned beer menu, and playful takes on favorites like fried chicken in a bucket and soft pretzels with beer cheese. At both restaurants, he was lauded for his leadership in the kitchen, dining room and the community, whether for his Potomac River cleanups, oyster re-harvesting programs, or personalized tasting menus for his regular guests.
An avid runner, biker and hiker, Marron has participated in many athletic races around the country, and enjoys making his own energy bars. He lives in Alexandria with his wife Dana and two dogs, Grendel and Gobi. Married in March 2011, Dana and Dennis enjoyed a pig roast and canned beer bar at their wedding.