Foodies, rejoice! The 2011 James Beard Award winners have been announced.
Widely known as the American food industry's equivalent of music's Grammys and film's Oscars, there are plenty of interesting awards given out in all kinds of categories. They don't get as much press as those Hollywood-centric awards, of course, so you may have missed them last week.
Who was James Beard, you ask? Well, for starters, he was the host of the
first cooking show on TV. More importantly, he was a prolific food writer and cook, and is thought of by many as the architect of modern "American" cuisine. Find out
more about James Beard here.
You can
download a whole list of the 2011 winners and
see the nominees on the
James Beard Foundation Awards website.
Here are the award categories (links go to a list of nominees):
Support Your Local "Best Chef"
It's fun to see who the Best Chef award went to in your area. I was pleased to see one of my favorite chefs honored (Isaac Becker from 112 Eatery in Minneapolis).
Here's a complete list of the nominees, with the winners in bold. If you can't get a reservation at a winner, try another nominee!
BEST CHEF: GREAT LAKES
Michael Carlson, Schwa, Chicago
Curtis Duffy, Avenues at the Peninsula, Chicago
Bruce Sherman, North Pond, Chicago
Paul Virant, Vie, Western Springs, IL
Alex Young, Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MIBEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC
Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C.
Peter Pastan, Obelisk, Washington, D.C.
Maricel Presilla, Cucharamama, Hoboken, NJ
Michael Solomonov, Zahav, PhiladelphiaBEST CHEF: MIDWEST
Justin Aprahamian, Sanford, Milwaukee
Isaac Becker, 112 Eatery, MinneapolisColby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, MO
Tory Miller, L'Etoile, Madison, WI
Lenny Russo, Heartland, St. Paul, MN
BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY
Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern
April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig
Wylie Dufresne, wd~50
Gabrielle Hamilton, PruneMichael White, Marea
BEST CHEF: NORTHEAST
Tim Cushman, o ya, Boston
Krista Kern Desjarlais, Bresca, Portland, ME
Gerry Hayden, The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY
Matt Jennings, La Laiterie, Providence
Tony Maws, Craigie On Main, Cambridge, MAEric Warnstedt, Hen of the Wood, Waterbury, VT
BEST CHEF: PACIFIC
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
Daniel Patterson, COI, San Francisco
Richard Reddington, Redd, Yountville, CA
Michael Tusk, Quince, San FranciscoBEST CHEF: NORTHWEST
Matt Dillon, Sitka & Spruce, Seattle
Christopher Israel, Grüner, Portland, OR
Andy Ricker, Pok Pok, Portland, OREthan Stowell, Staple & Fancy, Mercantile, Seattle
Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland, OR
BEST CHEF: SOUTH
Zach Bell, Café Boulud, Palm Beach, FL
John Harris, Lilette, New Orleans
Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, AL
Tory McPhail, Commander's Palace, New Orleans
Stephen Stryjewski, Cochon, New OrleansBEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST
Hugh Acheson, Five and Ten, Athens, GA
Craig Deihl, Cypress, Charleston, SC
John Fleer, Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley, Cashiers, NC
Linton Hopkins, Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, KY
Andrea Reusing, Lantern, Chapel Hill, NCBEST CHEF: SOUTHWEST
Bruce Auden, Biga on the Banks, San Antonio
Bryan Caswell, Reef, Houston
Saipin Chutima, Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas (tie)
Tyson Cole, Uchi, Austin, TX (tie)
Ryan Hardy, Montagna at the Little Nell, Aspen, CO