More than twenty years ago, in a ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., two volunteers crossed paths at Food & Friends’ signature event, Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction. They were there to serve others. They did not expect to find each other.
Carrie had rushed in late after a delayed flight, still in her suit, without the dress she had planned to wear. Improvising, she tucked two roses, one white and one blue, into her hair. Across the room, Adam noticed.
“I said, ‘That’s the woman I’m going to marry,’” he remembers.
At the time, both were already connected to service. Carrie’s roommate was part of Food & Friends’ development staff and had invited her to help at Chef’s Best when volunteers were needed. Adam’s roots ran deep in food access work, from the Arlington Food Assistance Center to DC’s broader hunger relief network. Volunteering at Chef’s Best felt natural to them both, a way to give back and be part of something bigger.
That night, after their shifts escorting chefs and assisting guests, Adam worked up the courage to ask Carrie if she wanted to walk around and sample the food. Later, after an impromptu volunteer after-party complete with hockey and buffalo wings, he offered to walk her home through Georgetown. By the end of the evening, a love story had begun.
They married in 2008. Each year on their anniversary, Adam brings Carrie flowers in shades of blue and white, a nod to the roses that first caught his eye.
In 2025, two decades after that first meeting, they returned to Chef’s Best not just as volunteers, but as a family shaped by that moment. Now parents of twins, they have shared the story often at the dinner table and even taken their children back to the very ballroom where it all began.
“I encourage people to put yourself out there and volunteer,” Carrie says. “You never know what good things will come out of it.”
Over the years, life has grown busier, careers have shifted, and children have grown, but their connection to Food & Friends remains strong. They have supported the organization in different ways and look forward to volunteering alongside their kids when they are old enough.
This Valentine’s Day, their story is a reminder that love shows up in unexpected places. Sometimes it is in a grand gesture. Sometimes it is in a simple offer to walk someone home. And sometimes, it begins with serving others together.
Join us for the 33rd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner and Auction on Monday, June 8, 2026 at the Marriott Marquis DC. Learn more and get involved by visiting the Chef’s Best page here.
