It used to be that New York-based restaurants and chefs won nearly all of the James Beard Foundation restaurant and chef awards. At long last, more and more Chicagoans are being nominated for national awards--probably the restaurant industry's most coveted.
Although they face formidable competition in their categories, I think they all stand a good chance of winning. The local nominees are: Paul Kahan, chef/partner of Blackbird and the Publican, "Outstanding Chef"; Richard Melman, founder, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, founder, "Outstanding Restaurateur"; Stephanie Izard, chef, Girl and the Goat, "Best New Restaurant"; and Patrick Fahy, pastry chef, Blackbird, and Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate, "Outstanding Pasty Chef". Of course, only one pastry chef can win; it's unusual to have two Chicago nominees in that category. Topolobampo is a nominee for "Outstanding Service."
Four of the five finalists for "Best Chef: Great Lakes" are Chicagoans: Curtis Duffy of Avenues, Bruce Sherman of North Pond, Paul Virant of Vie and Michael Carlson of Schwa.
Loosely modeled after the Academy Awards, the awards ceremony, which I attended several times over the years, is quite the gala affair. This year's event take place May 9 in New York.
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