Benvenuti a Casa Luca!

... or, Welcome to Casa Luca!

Introducing our Kitchen and Dining Room management team, who are dedicated to creating truly memorable experiences for you each and every time you dine with us.

Erin Clarke, Chef de Cuisine
Born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia, Erin's culinary education at Paris’ renowned L’Ecole Gregoire Ferrandi was the starting point for her voyage into the world of food. She was able to study and work under 3-Michelin star chef Alain Passard of L’Arpège, inspired by his quest for perfection and commitment to self-managing the production of his own vegetables, herb and fruits. 

Her first encounter with Italian cuisine was during her time at Maestro, where Chef Fabio Trabocchi was executing ultra-fine dining in Mclean, Virginia. At Maestro, Erin was able to blend her classic French training with soulful Italian traditions, learning everything from fresh pasta-making to whole animal butchery. She followed Trabocchi to New York City to open Fiamma, where she served as sous chef. 

Erin has also worked as a food and nutrition educator for kids and families at several nonprofit organizations including the Food Bank of Charleston, New York’s City Harvest, and the Children’s Aid Society, before returning to Washington DC and the restaurant kitchen as a sous chef at Fiola.

Tom Wellings, Executive Pastry Chef

Tom brings an eye for creative seasonality and a strong background in Italian-influenced desserts to his position as executive pastry chef of Fiola and Casa Luca.

In 2007, Tom was pastry chef at Maestro, Fabio Trabocchi’s fine dining destination in Northern Virginia. He followed Fabio to Fiamma, where he offered New York diners a taste of his Italian-influenced modern interpretations.

Tom cut his teeth at some of the most notable, progressive restaurants in the country, including WD-50 in New York, Clio in Boston and Trio in Chicago before joining the pastry department at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. Tom also served as pastry chef at Restaurant Eve for one year. Prior to coming to Fiola, Wellings served as pastry chef at Equinox, impressing guests with his seasonally inspired desserts. He has twice been nominated for the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s Pastry Chef of the Year award.

At Fiola, Tom utilizes Italian ingredients to create modern takes on traditional pastry preparations. At Casa Luca, Tom reimagines traditional Marche desserts while preserving their simple, authentic and regional spirit.

John Toigo, Wine Director

John Toigo is Wine Director for Fiola and Casa Luca, where his goal is to make the serious and sometimes intimidating subject of wine approachable and fun. 

Toigo comes from The Inn at Little Washington where, as Cellar Master, he assisted Wine Director Jennifer Knowles in maintaining the award-winning restaurant’s remarkable cellar. It was at The Inn with its selection of more than 2,400 wines that Toigo learned the art of maintaining a list that kept pace with modern palates while celebrating the rich history and tradition of wine. 

Toigo was the Sommelier and Cellar Master at Plume restaurant located in The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC. As part of the opening team at Plume, Toigo worked with Wine Director Michael Scaffidi and was charged with creating a wine list that reflected the taste of one of America’s first wine connoisseurs, President Thomas Jefferson. 

Toigo was born in Washington, DC to a military family and raised all over the world. Though he is from an Italian family that still owns a winery in Montepulciano, Italy, Toigo didn’t become interested in wine until he began attending Michigan State University to study for his B.A. in Hospitality Management. Since MSU didn’t have any advanced level wine courses, Toigo ended up creating his own curriculum and passed the first two levels of the Court of Master Sommeliers before his graduation. 

TJ Monoyez, General Manager

TJ grew up in the south of France. Her hospitality career began when she joined Novotel Hotel Group in Nimes, France as an intern. She transferred to Plymouth in England with the hotel group before moving to the States in 1994. TJ joined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company at Tysons Corner in 1995. She was on the opening teams for The Ritz-Carlton Santiago, Key Biscayne, South Beach, Kapalua and Pasadena. 

After 13 years with The Ritz-Carlton, TJ joined The Newseum & Wolfgang Puck Catering to open The Food Section in 2008.

TJ has been part of Fiola since its opening in 2011.

Sarah Bengtson, Restaurant Manager

Originally from Connecticut, Sarah began her hospitality career with the Max Restaurant Group. While studying economics at Trinity College in Hartford, she held various front of the house positions and developed a passion for hospitality. After graduating from Trinity, she continued her career with the Max Restaurant Group, and was promoted to the position of manager. In this position she had the opportunity to work in several restaurants, all with different concepts; including market fresh and sustainable seafood, casual Italian bistros and creative burgers. 

Sarah relocated to Washington, DC and joined the Fiola team as a manager. Working with such an accomplished team at the acclaimed Fiola helped her to continue to grow as a restaurant professional.


Jonathan Eagleton, Restaurant Manager

A true Washingtonian, Jonathan was born and raised in Washington DC. He began his career in hospitality at the Gulf Coast Kitchen in Bethesda as a teenager and was hooked on the high energy and excitement of the industry. With a hunger to learn more about the business, Jonathan took several different positions in various restaurants and eventually landed at the Georgetown Waterfront as a General Manager for Oceanside Management at Tony & Joe’s Seafood Place, Riverside Grille and Cabanas Restaurant. After 11 years at the Waterfront, he looks forward to being a part of such an exciting time of growth and success as the Fiola group expands with two new restaurants in 2013.

In his free time, Jonathan can be found enjoying a row on his kayak or having an adventure in Rock Creek Park with his 200 pound English mastiff puppy.