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Patrick O’Connell is the chef and proprietor of The Inn at Little Washington, a country inn and restaurant in the town of Washington in Virginia's Rappahannock County. O’Connell was not classically trained as a chef. His training began at fifteen when he worked after school at a neighborhood restaurant in his native Washington D.C. Along with his now former partner and lover, Reinhardt Lynch, he began a catering business in 1972 in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1978, O'Connell and Lynch opened the Inn at Little Washington in an abandoned gas station. Opening first for friends and acquaintances on January 28, 1978, then officially to the public on February 1, 1978, the Inn at Little Washington was met with immediate success and notoriety despite antagonism from many locals. Three weeks after opening, a food critic for the Washington Star, a Washington D.C. newspaper, John Rosson, visited the Inn for dinner after the insistence of one of his loyal readers. Familiar with Rappahannock County, Rosson accepted the challenge to visit the new restaurant in the sleepy town of Washington, VA, located 67 miles west of the younger but more recognizable Washington D.C. Upon visiting for the first time, he was amazed by what he experienced. To be certain that it was more than just a "fluke" or a "series of fortunate events," Rosson would return the next week. Upon doing so, equally astonished by the depth and breadth of his experience, he thought it best to introduce himself, despite regarding his anonymity as a food writer as a well-guarded secret. The critic had met his match at least in terms of his ability of uncovering any weak underside of a fledgling new entity, especially one centered in the midst of a sparsely populated village of less than 300 residents. By introducing himself to the new chef and proprietor, he gave a not-so-subtle warning that was more prophetic than conciliatory: "I am going to write a story about you that is going to change your life. You are going to need to hire someone full time just to answer your phone!"
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