Patrick O’Connell of the Inn at Little Washington cooks in and oversees a kitchen that’s welcomed presidents, kings and queens as well as guests from all over the world.

The Virginia inn’s owner and chef is celebrating his 80th birthday this week. But big birthday aside, he’s not slowing down.

“In fact, I’m speeding up — seriously,” O’Connell said. “The idea is that we have such a strong team now, we have so much talent here, and we’ve acquired a certain gravitas as a hotel and the only three star restaurant south of New York, really, that we can do things we couldn’t do 20, even 15 years ago. So why not do them?”

Those projects involve a major expansion at the inn, including a spa with a new entrance for overnight guests.

“A new complex, and this is 10 additional rooms with an undergr

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