Posted on June 9th, 2008
The winners of the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards announced Sunday night, June 8th, include:
Restaurants and Chefs, National
Outstanding Restaurateur: Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, New York
Outstanding Chef: Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago
Outstanding Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern, New York (Danny Meyer)
Outstanding New Restaurant: Central Michel Richard, Washington (Michel Richard)
Rising Star Chef: Gavin Kaysen, Cafe Boulud, New York
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, Tartine Bakery, San Francisco
Outstanding Wine Service: Eleven Madison Park, New York
Oustanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Terry Theise, Terry Theise Estate Selections, Silver Spring, Md.
Outstanding Service: Terra, St. Helena, Calif.
Chefs - Regional
Best Chef: Great Lakes - Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic - Eric Ziebold, CityZen, Washington, DC
Best Chef: Midwest - Adam Siegel, Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, Milwaukee
Best Chef: New York - David Chang, Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York
Best Chef: Northeast - Patrick Connolly, Radius, Boston
Best Chef: Northwest - Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, Wash.
Best Chef: Southwest - Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colo.
Best Chef: South - Michelle Bernstein, Michy’s, Miami
Best Chef: Southeast - Robert Stehling, Hominy Grill, Charleston, S.C.
Best Chef: Pacific - Craig Stoll, Delfina, San Francisco
Books
Cookbook of the Year - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, “The River Cottage Meat Book”
Cookbook Hall of Fame - Paula Wolfert, “Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco”
Asian Cooking - Niloufer Ichaporia King, “My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking”
Baking and Dessert - Peter Reinhart, “Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor”
Cooking from a Professional Point of View - The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate, “The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine”
Entertaining - Trish Magwood, “Dish Entertains”
Americana - Jean Anderson, “A Love Affair with Southern Cooking”
General - James Peterson, “Cooking”
Healthy Focus - Jean Harvey-Berino with Joyce Hendley and the editors of EatingWell magazine, “The EatingWell Diet”
International - Anne Willan, “The Country Cooking of France”
Reference - Rowan Jacobsen, “A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Oyster Eating in North America”
Single Subject - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, “The River Cottage Meat Book”
Wine and Spirits - David Wondrich, “Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar”
Writing on Food - Barbara Kingsolver, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life”
Photography - Photographer: France Ruffenach, “The Country Cooking of France” by Anne Willan
Also ….
Television Food Segment, National or Local: The Victory Garden, PBS
Television Food Special: Top Chef Holiday Special, Bravo
Television Food Show, National or Local: Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie, American Public Television
Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurant, or Nutrition: Epicurious.com, Tanya Steel
Multimedia Writing on Food: Josh Ozersky and Daniel Maurer, nymag.com, “Grub Street”
Posted on June 7th, 2008
Many weekends are slow, food news-wise. This is definitely not one of those.
On the air we have a preview of Paula Deen’s new cooking show on Sunday early afternoon and later that night episode 2 of NFNS. Off the air and live, the biggest thing of this weekend and perhaps of the year is the Annual James Beard Awards Sunday night.
First up is Tyler Florence who travelled to Boise for a food charity event, A Chefs’ Affaire. What it is involves a five-course gourmet dinner created by Idaho chefs from 20 different restaurants. There is also a live chef auction and a silent auction. Benefits go the the Idaho Foodbank. Celebrity chef Tyler Florence presents a cooking demonstration prior to the dinner.
Sunday night is the 2008 James Beard Awards, basically the Oscars of the Culinary World. For who’s up for what check out are post on the Beard Finalists we did in March. On Monday we’ll let you know who the winners were. Ah, but for a moment let’s look at last night in Big Apple, namely the Chefs’ Night Out party hosted by Bon Appetit at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
Well some bloggers (not me, sniff) were lucky enough to go, so let me quote the ulterior epicure:
It’s kind of an unofficial kick-off for the James Beard weekend of festivities leading up to the James Beard Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8. The event involved loud music, a dance floor, lots of cocktails, a dessert “buffet,” passed finger foods, an ice cream truck, and lots of people-watching.
Attendees included: Barbara Fairchild, Andrew Knowlton, Tom Colicchio, Tracie des Jardins, Johnny Iuzzini, Anita Lo, Drew Nieporent, Gail Simmons, Ilan Hall, Grant Achatz, Donatella Arpaia, Michael Psilakis, Bradford Thompson, David Kinch, Harold Dieterle, Anne Burrell, Fabio Trabocchi, John Besh, Lee Ann Wong, and many more…
And for photos of the event there was “live blogger” snack (that’s her cool name) taking photos on her cellphone straight to her blog. No captions but I know for sure I saw Gail Simmons, and Ted Allen with some guys and Daniel Bouloud sucking on a Good Humor bar (I kid you not), and a blurry pic of a guy against a wall who’s hair reminds me of Marcel from the first season of Top Chef. Not saying it was, some blurs look like other blurs, but it could have been.
As for television, on Sunday night there is a brand new Iron Chef America with star chef Marcus Samuelsson entering Kitchen Stadium for the first time, taking on Iron Chef Bobby Flay; that’s at 9pm Eastern, followed at 10pm Eastern with the second episode of The Next Food Network Star (which we both showed a clip of and talked about the other day.)
In the daytime however, there’s a Paula Deen marathon from 11am to 2pm, culminating at 1:30pm with a sneak peek of her latest new cooking show, Paula’s Best Dishes. As FN describes it this way: “What happens when America’s favorite Southern cook opens up her kitchen to family, friends, viewers, and the best home cooks in the country? Paula is cookin’ up something new as she rescues viewer recipes, learns the secrets of some of America’s best cooks and shares stories and traditions with friends and strangers alike.”
For this Sunday’s show the theme is “Deli Delights” with guest local Savannah chef, Alan Nowell paying a visit. Next week the show premieres in its regular Sunday at 12:30pm time slot with Paula managing to get her husband Michael into the kitchen with her.
Posted on May 6th, 2008
We haven’t mentioned the Vegas Uncorked F&WF in a while and, well, seems like a blink of the eye and it’s here already! Well, two days away: running May 8 thru 11, and featuring tons of chefs and myriad food tastings and competitions The event, officially the Second Annual Vegas Uncork’d: A Bon Appétit Epicurean Experience is billed as “a delicious and inspiring star-studded weekend is guaranteed to satisfy every craving when it comes to providing access to world-class chefs, sommeliers, great restaurant design, and Bon Appétit editors and contributors” and looking over the attendees and events it’s hard to disagree with that.
Among the celebrity chefs and foodies are event co-chair Wolfgang Puck who has six restaurants in Vegas, Bon Appétit Executive Chef and Iron Chef Cat Cora, Daniel Boulud, actress and vineyard owner Lorraine Bracco, Daniel Burke, Todd English, Hubert Keller, Michael Mina, Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Kerry Simon, Susan Spicer, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and many others.
Among the many event highlights are: Shop Like a Chef workshop in which Wolfgang von Wieser and “Cat Cora share their expertise on how to get the most out of your organic markets.” Editor Lunch Series, one of which is “an intimate lunch with Barbara Fairchild and Sirio Maccioni, the famed restaurateur behind Osterio del Circo and the legendary Le Cirque in New York City, one of the world’s most celebrated destinations for luxurious dining. Meet the man behind the legend.”
One of the four Masters vs Rookies, Pro-Ams features Cat Cora emceeing, Barbara Fairchild, Alan Richman, Andrew Knowlton, and Bruce Seidel judging. Lorraine Bracco as honary sous chef and competing chefs Todd English and John Church. Or how about the Five Chef gala at the Bellagio where in five master chefs will be in one kitchen serving up the evening’s five-course banquet: Julian Serrano from Picasso, Todd English of Olives, Jean-Georges Vongerichten of Prime, star chef Michael Mina, and desserts by Jean-Philippe Maury.
And those are just three of dozens of inventive events during the four days here. Among others which we can’t even go into detail it would take up too much room here: the intimate Bellagio Editors-at-Lunch Series at Picasso, Le Cirque and Sensi, Cocktail Smackdowns, a decadent Grand Tasting at Caesars Palace, editor-hosted Star Chef Luncheon series at Wynn Las Vegas, A Tale of Five Chefs Gala at Bellagio, Midnight Blackjack and Midnight Poker at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Mother’s Day Brunch at Wynn.
Posted on April 8th, 2008
Last week Food and Wine magazine named their annual Best New Chefs list for 2008. They are, alphabetically:
Jim Burke of James in Philadelphia; Gerard Craft of Niche in St. Louis; Tim Cushman of O Ya in Boston; Jeremy Fox of Ubuntu in Napa, Calif.; Koren Grieveson of Avec in Chicago; Michael Psilakis of Anthos in New York City; Ethan Stowell of Union in Seattle; Giuseppe Tentori of Boka in Chicago; Eric Warnstedt of Hen of the Wood in Waterbury, Vt.; and, Sue Zemanick of Gautreau’s in New Orleans.
The winners were fêted last Thursday night at a party in New York City. Twenty former F&W Best New Chefs, including Daniel Boulud, Tom Colicchio, Wylie Dufresne, Dan Barber and Todd English, created signature dishes and Level™ Vodka cocktails in honor of the 20th anniversary milestone. Addtionally, Hung Huynh, winner of the third season of Top Chef on Bravo, also prepared tastings for the celebration.
And the shoes will be on the other feet when the 2008 F&W Best New Chefs prepare an exclusive tasting dinner at the 26th annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 13 to 15.
The F&W Best New Chefs are chosen as part of a six-month selection process. The magazine works with trusted restaurant critics and food writers around the country to identify outstanding chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen for less than five years. Then the editors travel, incognito, to taste the food themselves.
As America’s talent-seeking epicurean magazine, Food & Wine has awarded the Best New Chef title to such luminaries-in-the making as Thomas Keller (1988), Nobu Matsuhisa (1989) and Rick Bayless (1988).
Posted on April 5th, 2008
©2008 Harry Kenney
So why haven’t I talked about Top Chef more? Wny not give a weekly recap or review? You see, if you have a show like Hell’s Kitchen or Last Restaurant Standing or some of the others, you get one chance of seeing what you missed the following week. With Top Chef, however, let’s admit it, Bravo gives you three more chances the very night; you heard me, within the first six hours of the first episode of that week you have no less than three more chances. And then, over the course of the week before the next episode? Dunno, something crazy like it’s on 27 or something more times? … That said, hey, a month has passed, so here’s a little TCB “What’s Happenin’ on Top Chef” score card for you.
Top Chef, Season 4. The standings at the end of Week 4. 
Super quick Top Chef recap of the past month:
Week 1: Welcome to Chicago; Zoi and Jennifer are lesbian lovers; Nimma majorly over salted her food - First casualty. Rocco Dispirito and Anthony Bourdain guests. Week 2: “Zoo Food”: Valerie made bilinis to serve a couple hours later - Goodbye; Tom is a bear. Wylie Dufresne judges. Week 3: “Block Food”: A-hole Eric (who thinks he knows more about Mexican food than judge Rick Bayless) made corn dogs to serve several hours later. - See ya, genius! Week 4. “Film Food”: Spike came up with stupid food idea; teammate Manuel went along; the judges decide that passively going along is a worse sin than actively making a stupid decision. - So Manuel is gone. Not the best judgement they’ve ever made, not the worse either. Solomon would have cut each chef in half. Daniel Boulud is guest.
