Last night, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the James Beard Foundation named the best restaurants and chefs across the country. The awards, chosen by an independent volunteer committee that’s comprised mainly of food journalists, are distributed annually, and recognize the country’s new crop of culinary talent from different regions, and the country as a whole.
First place for Best New Restaurant went to Israeli restaurant Shaya in New Orleans, owned and operated by past James Beard Award-winner Alon Shaya (and an entry on our list of the country’s best new restaurants). Suzanne Goin of Lucques in Los Angeles won Outstanding Chef, while Dahlia Narvaez of Osteria Mozza and Daniela Soto-Innes of Cosme in New York City won Outstanding Pastry Chef and Rising Star Chef of the Year, respectively. According to The New York Times, it’s been 12 years since those three awards were all taken home by women in the same year. For the full list of winners, see below. Keep in mind, however: if you plan on visiting any of the awarded restaurants, reservations are strongly recommended. The word is out.
The Winners
From NYC to L.A.
Best Chef: Great Lakes
Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Aaron Silverman, Rose’s Luxury, Washington D.C.
Best Chef: Midwest
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Best Chef: New York City
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
Best Chef: Northeast
Zak Pelaccio, Fish & Game, Hudson, NY
Best Chef: Northwest
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Best Chef: South
Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans
Best Chef: Southeast
Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville
Best Chef: Southwest
Justin Yu, Oxheart, Houston
Best Chef: West
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles
Best New Restaurant
Shaya, New Orleans
Oustanding Baker
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Café, Boston
Outstanding Bar Program
Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, NY
Outstanding Chef
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Outstanding Restaurant
Alinea, Chicago
Outstanding Restaurateur
Ken Friedman, The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, Tosca Café
Outstanding Service
Eleven Madison Park, NYC
Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits
Ron Cooper, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Ranchos de Taos, NM
Outstanding Wine Program
Bern’s Steakhouse, Tampa, FL
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Daniela Soto-Innes, Cosme, NYC
