Food & Drink

From dishwasher to executive chef: Zinnia’s Danny Wells on building a career rooted in Montgomery County

Takoma Park native reflects on 30 years in the kitchen and the mentors who guided him along the way

By

Jacqueline Kalil

July 6, 2026 3:05 p.m.

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Editor’s note: This story is part of Bethesda Today’s occasional series of interviews with local chefs.

On a sweltering July afternoon, Bethesda Today visited Zinnia Executive Chef Danny Wells at the Silver Spring estate that was once home to Mrs. K’s Toll House. Outside the entrance, purple hydrangeas, yellow black-eyed Susans and pink phlox were blooming, their vibrant hues offering a welcome distraction from temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees. Inside, staff kept a watchful eye on doors opening and closing, working to prevent the day’s relentless heat from spilling into the dining room.

Wells sat in Zinnia’s homey parlor area, where the laid-back, pub-like atmosphere is accented by vintage-inspired blue floral wallpaper. The 43-year-old from Takoma Park has amassed more than 30 years of experience in the culinary world, including 4 at Zinnia. Along the way, he has earned industry accolades including a 2015 nomination for Rising Culinary Star by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. Zinnia, meanwhile, won its first RAMMY Award in 2024 for Beer Program of the Year, followed by a second in 2026, when longtime staffer Jose Luis Salgado was named Employee of the Year.

During a wide-ranging conversation, Wells reflected on his path to becoming one of the DMV’s most respected chefs, the mentors who shaped his career, and the inspiration behind the seasonal menus he continues to create and refine.

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From teenage busboy to executive chef

Wells was 13 when he landed his first job washing dishes at the now-closed Savory Café in Takoma Park, not far from his childhood home. Wells says he found the job through a next-door neighbor who worked there at the time. While putting late-night shifts alongside the pastry chef, Wells found himself drawn away from scrubbing kitchenware and into the kitchen—a pull that would shape the course of his career.

“The more I was there,” Wells said, “the more she started teaching me prep work.”

While attending high school in Washington, D.C., Wells he set his sights on culinary school, eventually enrolling at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, widely regarded as one of the nation’s top culinary schools.

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Wells’ next destination was Florida, where he spent two years honing his craft at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Following a successful internship, he returned to Takoma Park with another goal: save enough money to travel to Spain, where he hoped to land a restaurant job—a plan that proved more difficult than expected

“I couldn’t get any work there, so I just ate and drank until I ran out of money,” he said with a laugh.

He returned to Takoma Park and joined Black Restaurant Group as a chef at the now-closed Addie’s on Rockville Pike, marking the start of what would become a decades-long career with the company, interrupted only by a year working in New York. After holding leadership roles across the group, he joined Zinnia as executive chef when the restaurant opened in July 2022.

Today, Wells oversees Zinnia, Motorkat and Takoma Beverage Company, dividing his time between all three concepts.

The mentors who defined his career

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Wells counts chef Ted Peters, who supervised him during his Miami internship at the now-defunct Gaucho Room inside the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, as one of the mentors who most impacted his culinary career.

“He instilled a lot of the passion and discipline that helped me in the kitchen the most,” Wells said.

Wells also credits Black Restaurant Group founder Jeff Black with teaching him the business side of hospitality.

 “I learned a lot [from him] about accommodating guests, creating repeat customers and understanding the numbers behind running a restaurant,” Wells said.

His appreciation for seasonal cooking and locally sourced ingredients began long before “farm-to-table” became a culinary buzzword. Wells credits his parents—both avid home cooks—with instilling that value early. For nearly 30 years, his mother has walked to the Takoma Park Farmers Market to buy produce, and Wells said he didn’t realize frozen vegetables were the norm in many households until he visited friends in middle school.

That philosophy remains central to his cooking today.

At Zinnia, herbs and produce are grown in an on-site garden, though Wells said it functions as a supplement rather than a primary source year-round. Depending on the season, the culinary team incorporates whatever is ready to harvest. Beyond the garden, Wells has long-standing relationships with farmers stretching more than two decades, as well as regional cooperatives that connect restaurants with Amish and Mennonite farms in Pennsylvania.

Although he oversees multiple restaurants, Wells stays connected to the kitchen. Each property has a chef de cuisine and sous chef team, while Wells focuses on menu development, mentoring staff and stepping in wherever needed—including covering line shifts when employees are away.

“I really like covering shifts—it keeps me in tune with how the kitchens are flowing,” he said.

Menu development is collaborative. Sometimes Wells builds the foundation of a dish and hands it off to another chef for refinement; other times, a sous chef brings an idea to the table that the team develops together.

When seeking inspiration, he dines out frequently and talks with other chefs about what excites them. More often, though, he lets ingredients lead the way.

Standout dishes at Zinnia

Wells brought three of his favorite dishes from Zinnia’s menu to the table where he sat with a reporter from Bethesda Today. Each dish reflected his approach: let quality ingredients shine, source locally when possible and build lasting relationships with producers.

First was the smoked rainbow trout tartine, one of Zinnia’s signature dishes.

“I think definitely one of my personal favorite bites on the menu is this one,” Wells said.

The open-faced sandwich features horseradish crema, smoked rainbow trout from Chesapeake Smokehouse in Easton, Maryland, a parsley-and-caper persillade, toasted walnuts, and pickled shallots atop toasted sourdough.

Next were the house-made cheddar chive biscuits, served with smoked Benton Country Ham, pimento cheese, hot honey, and house-made bread-and-butter pickles.

Finally, Wells brought out another top contender for his favorite menu item: Zinnia’s BBQ Gulf shrimp and Maine lobster.

“Fresh Maine lobster meat, Gulf shrimp, grits, then it’s a buttery sauce with a lot of shishito peppers and tomatoes, and topped with a little bit of fresh green onion … you can’t go wrong,” Wells said.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine