For the unfamiliar, the James Beard Awards are the Oscars of the food and restaurant industries. City House’s Tandy Wilson has been nominated multiple times and in 2016 he won Nashville’s first best chef award. The Goldberg brothers and many of their restaurants have been recognized as have Bastion’s Josh Habiger, Tailor’s Vivek Surti and Henrietta Red’s Julia Sullivan as well as Arnold’s Country Kitchen and Prince’s Hot Chicken. This year Attaboy’s bar program, Lou’s chef Mailea Weger, Peninsula’s chef Jake Howell, and Rolf and Daughters‘ chef Philip Krajeck were Nashville’s James Beard Award semifinalists with Attaboy and Phillip Krajeck becoming nominees. Saturday, June 11th the James Beard Media Awards Ceremony took place at Columbia College Chicago. Sunday, June 12th the James Beard Leadership Awards Ceremony took place during an invitation only luncheon at The Dalcy in Chicago. Monday, June 13th the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony took place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Unfortunately, our Nashville nominees were not among the winners but we have next year to look forward to and we hope to see many of our culinary artists and dining establishments among the semifinalists, nominees and winners. This year’s list gives us great insight into food trends and some new, fabulous and glamorous eateries to try as we spent the next few months traveling. If you have been to any of the restaurants on the list, please let us know about your experience in the comments. Bon appetit!
Lifetime Achievement Award
Martin Yan
Humanitarian of the Year
Grace Young
Outstanding Restaurateur
•WINNER: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco, and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
• Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group (Rasika, Bindaas, Annabelle, and others),
Washington, D.C.
• Kevin Gillespie, Red Beard Restaurants (Gunshow, Ole Reliable, and Revival), Atlanta
• Akkapong “Earl” Ninsom, Langbaan, Hat Yai, Eem, and others, Portland, OR
• Chris Williams, Lucille’s Hospitality Group, Houston
• Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street Philly, and others), Philadelphia
Outstanding Chef
•WINNER: Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, GA
• Reem Assil, Reem’s, Oakland and San Francisco, CA
• Peter Chang, Peter Chang, VA and MD
• Jason Vincent, Giant, Chicago
• Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle
Outstanding Restaurant
•WINNER: Chai Pani, Asheville, NC
• Brennan’s, New Orleans
• Butcher & Bee, Charleston, SC
• Parachute, Chicago
• The Walrus and the Carpenter, Seattle
Emerging Chef
•WINNER: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin
• Angel Barreto, Anju, Washington, D.C.
• Calvin Eng, Bonnie’s, NYC
• Cleophus Hethington, Benne on Eagle, Asheville, NC
• Serigne Mbaye, Dakar Nola, New Orleans
• Crystal Wahpepah, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Oakland, CA
Best New Restaurant
•WINNER: Owamni, Minneapolis
• Angry Egret Dinette, Los Angeles
• Bacanora, Phoenix
• BARDA, Detroit
• Dhamaka, NYC
• Horn BBQ, Oakland, CA
• Kasama, Chicago
• Leeward, Portland, ME
• Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C.
• Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch, TX
• Ursula, NYC
Outstanding Pastry Chef
•WINNER: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Pâtisserie, Detroit
• Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles
• Claudia Martinez, Miller Union, Atlanta
• Ruben Ortega, Xochi, Houston
• Caroline Schiff, Gage & Tollner, NYC
Outstanding Baker
•WINNER: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, AZ
• Maya-Camille Broussard, Justice of the Pies, Chicago
• Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery, Portland, ME
• Caroline Schweitzer and Lauren Heemstra, Wild Crumb, Bozeman, MT
• Zak Stern, Zak the Baker, Miami
Outstanding Hospitality
•WINNER: Cúrate, Asheville, NC
• House of Prime Rib, San Francisco
• Hugo’s, Houston
• Sylvia’s Restaurant, NYC
• Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta
Outstanding Wine Program
•WINNER: The Four Horsemen, NYC
• Frenchette, NYC
• The Little Nell, Aspen, CO
• Maydan, Washington, D.C.
• Rebel Rebel, Somerville, MA
Outstanding Bar Program
•WINNER: Julep, Houston
• Alley Twenty Six, Durham, NC
• Attaboy, Nashville
• barmini by José Andrés, Washington, D.C.
• Nobody’s Darling, Chicago
Best Chef: California
•WINNER: Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco
• Bryant Ng, Cassia, Santa Monica, CA
• Sarintip “Jazz” Singsanong, Jitlada, Los Angeles
• James Syhabout, Commis, Oakland, CA
• Pim Techamuanvivit, Nari, San Francisco
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
•WINNER: Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago
• Omar Anani, Saffron De Twah, Detroit
• Jason Hammel, Lula Cafe, Chicago
• Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago
• John Shields and Karen Urie Shields, Smyth, Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
•WINNER: Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia
• Angel Barreto, Anju, Washington, D.C.
• Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Washington, D.C.
• Jesse Ito, Royal Izakaya, Philadelphia
• Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Kalaya Thai Kitchen, Philadelphia
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
•WINNER: Dane Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee
• Karen Bell, Bavette La Boucherie, Milwaukee
• Jorge Guzmán, Petite León, Minneapolis
• Gregory León, Amilinda, Milwaukee
• Yia Vang, Union Hmong Kitchen, Minneapolis
Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
•WINNER: Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, CO
• Jose Avila, El Borrego Negro, Denver
• Cody Cheetham, Tavernetta, Denver
• Dana Rodriguez, Work & Class, Denver
• Eric Skokan, Black Cat Farm Table Bistro, Boulder, CO
Best Chef: New York State
•WINNER: Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, NYC
• Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy, NYC
• JJ Johnson, FIELDTRIP, NYC
• Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shuka, NYC
• Junghyun Park, Atomix, NYC
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
•WINNER: Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, VT
• Vien Dobui, CÔNG TỬ BỘT, Portland, ME
• Tiffani Faison, Orfano, Boston
• Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food and Beverage, Portland, ME
• Damian Sansonetti, Chaval, Portland, ME
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
•WINNER: Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu
• Carlo Lamagna, Magna Kusina, Portland, OR
• Thomas Pisha-Duffly, Oma’s Hideaway, Portland, OR
• Sheldon Simeon, Tin Roof, Kahului, HI
• Mutsuko Soma, Kamonegi, Seattle
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
•WINNER: Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, NC
• Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC
• Greg Collier, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
• Philip Krajeck, Rolf and Daughters, Nashville
• Cheetie Kumar, Garland, Raleigh, NC
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
•WINNER: Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, AL
• Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith, Saint-Germain, New Orleans
• Timothy Hontzas, Johnny’s Restaurant, Homewood, AL
• Melissa M. Martin, Mosquito Supper Club, New Orleans
• Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
•WINNER: Fernando Olea, Sazón, Santa Fe
• Martín Rios, Restaurant Martín, Santa Fe
• Salazar Brothers, La Guelaguetza, Albuquerque, NM
• Giovanni Scorzo, Andreoli Italian Grocer, Scottsdale, AZ
• Jamie Tran, The Black Sheep, Las Vegas
Best Chef: Texas
•WINNER: Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin
• Tiffany Derry, Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch, TX
• Christine Ha and Tony J. Nguyen, Xin Chào, Houston
• Quy Hoang, Blood Bros. BBQ, Bellaire, TX
• Steven McHugh, Cured, San Antonio, TX