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2018 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards

Winners will be announced on May 7, 2018

Best New Restaurant 
A restaurant opened in the calendar year before the award will be given that already displays excellence in food, beverage, and service, and that is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.

The Charter Oak
St. Helena, CA

Empellón Midtown
NYC

Felix Trattoria
Venice, CA

JuneBaby
Seattle

Kismet
Los Angeles

Outstanding Baker (Presented by Taylor Precision Products)
A chef or baker who prepares breads, pastries, or desserts in a retail bakery, and who serves as a national standard-bearer of excellence. Must have been a baker or pastry chef for at least five years.

Dianna Daoheung
Black Seed Bagels
NYC

Zachary Golper
Bien Cuit
Brooklyn, NY

Maura Kilpatrick
Sofra Bakery and Café
Cambridge, MA

Belinda Leong and Michel Suas
B. Patisserie
San Francisco

Alison Pray
Standard Baking Co.
Portland, ME

Greg Wade
Publican Quality Bread
Chicago

Outstanding Bar Program (Presented by Woodford Reserve Bourbon)
A restaurant or bar that demonstrates excellence in cocktail, spirits, and/or beer service.

Anvil Bar & Refuge
Houston

Bar Agricole
San Francisco

Clyde Common
Portland, OR

Cure
New Orleans

Kimball House
Decatur, GA

Trick Dog
San Francisco

Outstanding Chef (Presented by All-Clad Metalcrafters)
A working chef in America whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals. Eligible candidates must have been working as a chef for the past five years.

Ashley Christensen
Poole’s Diner
Raleigh, NC

Gabrielle Hamilton
Prune
NYC

David Kinch
Manresa
Los Gatos, CA

Christopher Kostow
The Restaurant at Meadowood
St. Helena, CA

Donald Link
Herbsaint
New Orleans

Outstanding Pastry Chef (Presented by Lavazza)
A chef or baker who prepares desserts, pastries, or breads in a restaurant, and who serves as a national standard bearer of excellence. Must have been a pastry chef or baker for the past five years.

Kelly Fields
Willa Jean
New Orleans

Meg Galus
Boka
Chicago

Margarita Manzke
République
Los Angeles

Dolester Miles
Highlands Bar & Grill
Birmingham, AL

Diane Yang
Spoon and Stable
Minneapolis

Outstanding Restaurant (Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water)
A restaurant in the United States that serves as a national standard bearer of consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere, and service. Eligible restaurants must have been in operation 10 or more consecutive years.

Balthazar
NYC

Canlis
Seattle

Frasca Food and Wine
Boulder, CO

Highlands Bar & Grill
Birmingham, AL

Quince
San Francisco

Outstanding Restaurateur
A working restaurateur who sets high national standards in restaurant operations and entrepreneurship. Candidates must have been in the restaurant business for at least 10 years. Candidates must not have been nominated for a James Beard Foundation chef award in the past five years.

Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz
Boka Restaurant Group (Boka, GT Fish & Oyster, Girl & the Goat, and others)
Chicago

JoAnn Clevenger
Upperline
New Orleans

Ken Oringer
Uni, Little Donkey, Toro, and others
Boston

Caroline Styne
The Lucques Group (Lucques, a.o.c., Tavern, and others)
Los Angeles

Ellen Yin
High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, High Street on Market, High Street on Hudson, and others)
Philadelphia

Outstanding Service 
A restaurant in operation five or more years that demonstrates high standards of hospitality and service.

Boka
Chicago

Saison
San Francisco

Zahav
Philadelphia

Zingerman’s Delicatessen
Ann Arbor, MI

Zuni Café
San Francisco

Outstanding Wine Program (Presented by Robert Mondavi Winery)
A restaurant in operation five or more years that serves as a standard bearer for excellence in wine service through a well-presented wine list, knowledgeable staff, and efforts to educate customers about wine.

a.o.c.
Los Angeles

Bacchanal
New Orleans

Benu
San Francisco

FIG
Charleston, SC

The Little Nell
Aspen, CO

Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional 
A beer, wine, or spirits professional who has made a significant national impact on the restaurant industry.

Cathy Corison
Corison Winery
St. Helena, CA

Diane Flynt
Foggy Ridge Cider
Dugspur, VA

Miljenko Grgich
Grgich Hills Estate
Rutherford, CA

Steve Matthiasson
Matthiasson Wines
Napa, CA

Lance Winters
St. George Spirits
Alameda, CA

Rising Star Chef of the Year (Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water)
A chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to make a significant impact on the industry in years to come.

Camille Cogswell
Zahav
Philadelphia

Clare de Boer
King
NYC

Sarah Rinkavage
Marisol
Chicago

Miles Thompson
Michael’s
Santa Monica, CA

Kevin Tien
Himitsu
Washington, D.C.

Best Chefs
Chefs who have set new or consistent standards of excellence in their respective regions. Eligible candidates may be from any kind of dining establishment and must have been working as a chef for at least five years with the three most recent years spent in the region.

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
Andrew Brochu
Roister
Chicago

Abraham Conlon
Fat Rice
Chicago

Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark
Parachute
Chicago

David Posey and Anna Posey
Elske
Chicago

Lee Wolen
Boka
Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Amy Brandwein
Centrolina
Washington, D.C.

Tom Cunanan
Bad Saint
Washington, D.C.

Rich Landau
Vedge
Philadelphia

Jeremiah Langhorne
The Dabney
Washington, D.C.

Cindy Wolf
Charleston
Baltimore

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
Karen Bell
Bavette La Boucherie
Milwaukee

Steven Brown
Tilia
Minneapolis

Justin Carlisle
Ardent
Milwaukee

Gavin Kaysen
Spoon and Stable
Minneapolis

Ann Kim
Young Joni
Minneapolis

Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
Amanda Cohen
Dirt Candy

Ignacio Mattos
Estela

Missy Robbins
Lilia
Brooklyn, NY

Alex Stupak
Empellón Midtown

Jody Williams
Buvette Gastrothèque

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY STATE, RI, VT)
Karen Akunowicz
Myers + Chang
Boston

Tiffani Faison
Tiger Mama
Boston

Tony Messina
Uni
Boston

Cassie Piuma
Sarma
Somerville, MA

Benjamin Sukle
Oberlin
Providence

Best Chef: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY)
Edouardo Jordan
Salare
Seattle

Katy Millard
Coquine
Portland, OR

Bonnie Morales
Kachka
Portland, OR

Justin Woodward
Castagna
Portland, OR

Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi
Joule
Seattle

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
Vishwesh Bhatt
Snackbar
Oxford, MS

Nina Compton
Compère Lapin
New Orleans

Jose Enrique
Jose Enrique
San Juan, PR

Kristen Essig and Michael Stoltzfus
Coquette
New Orleans

Brad Kilgore
Alter
Miami

Slade Rushing
Brennan’s
New Orleans

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
Mashama Bailey
The Grey
Savannah, GA

Katie Button
Nightbell
Asheville, NC

Cassidee Dabney
The Barn at Blackberry Farm
Walland, TN

Rodney Scott
Rodney Scott’s BBQ
Charleston, SC

Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman
Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen
Memphis

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX, UT)
Michael Fojtasek
Olamaie
Austin

Bryce Gilmore
Barley Swine
Austin

Steve McHugh
Cured
San Antonio

Martín Rios
Restaurant Martín
Santa Fe

Alex Seidel
Mercantile Dining & Provision
Denver

Best Chef: West (CA, HI, NV)
Michael Cimarusti
Providence
Los Angeles

Dominique Crenn
Atelier Crenn
San Francisco

Jeremy Fox
Rustic Canyon
Santa Monica, CA

Jessica Koslow
Sqirl
Los Angeles

Travis Lett
Gjelina
Venice, CA

 

2018 James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America Inductees

These recipients will accept their awards at the James Beard Awards Gala on May 7 at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Jody Adams
Chef/Owner, TRADE, Porto, and Saloniki
Boston

Lally Brennan and Ti Adelaide Martin
Co-Proprietors, Commander’s Palace
New Orleans

Allison Hooper
Co-Founder/Owner, Vermont Creamery
Websterville, VT

Daniel Johnnes
Wine Director, The Dinex Group
New York City, NY

 

The following honorees will accept their awards at the James Beard Awards Gala on May 7 at Lyric Opera of Chicago

2018 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics (Presented by TABASCO®)

Sun Wah
Chicago, IL
Owners: Kelly Cheng, Laura Cheng and Michael Cheng

Galleria Umberto
Boston, MA
Owners: Paul Deuterio and Ralph Deuterio

Los Hernandez
Union Gap, WA
Owner: Felipe Hernandez

El Guero Canelo
Tucson, AZ
Owner: Daniel Contreras

Dong Phuong Bakery
New Orleans, LA
Owner: Linh Tran Garza

 

2018 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year

José Andrés
Multiple James Beard Award–Winning Chef; Owner, ThinkFoodGroup; Founder, World Central Kitchen

 

2018 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award

Paula Wolfert
Multiple James Beard Award–Winning Author
FOR COMPLETE LIST:

https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2018-james-beard-award-nominees

 

 

“So why should no-tipping establishments lose business?

New research by Lynn shows that when restaurants move to a no-tipping policy, their online customer ratings fall. One factor that explains that dissatisfaction is how we, as consumers, respond to “partitioned” prices versus “bundled” prices. A partitioned price divides the total cost of an item into smaller components…Consumers tend to perceive partitioned prices as cheaper than bundled ones.”

 

“One of the great lies of life is ‘follow your passions,'” says Mark Cuban

“Instead, pay attention to those things that you devote time to, says Cuban. Double down your investment there. “The things I ended up being really good at were the things I found myself putting effort into. A lot of people talk about passion, but that’s really not what you need to focus on. You really need to evaluate and say, ‘Okay, where am I putting in my time?’”

“The number of independent restaurants in the United States fell 3% last fall to 346,105 units, a decrease of 10,952 units from the same period last year, according to the most recent fall census from NPD Group.

As reported by Independent Restaurant News, the decline came as chain restaurants remained flat with their 2016 numbers. In total, the number of U.S. restaurants declined 2% for the period to 647,288 units, the report notes. Full-service restaurant units–a segment that includes casual dining, family dining, and fine dining–also fell 2%, to 294,167.”

“The proposed change would partially rescind the DOL’s 2011 regulations on tip-pooling which prohibited restaurants from allowing customer-facing employees (i.e. wait staff and bartenders) to share their tip pool with back-of-the-house employees (i.e., chefs, line cooks, callers and dishwashers).”

The DOL’s change is expected to give restaurants discretion on how to compensate their employees, decrease wage disparities between front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house employees, and incentivize all restaurant employees to strive to improve the customer experience.

https://www.foodnewsfeed.com/fsr/expert-insights/why-tip-pooling-could-be-making-comeback?utm_source=fs_insider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20180201

 

 

An example of what enlightened leadership looks like.

“Brinker International, parent company of Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy, launched an educational program for employees Monday called “Best You EDU.” The program, developed in partnership with Pearson, provides opportunities for Brinker employees, ranging from hourly to management, the company said. The program is free and available for any employee who works at least 24 hours per week with a minimum tenure of 90 days.”

https://www.foodnewsfeed.com/fsr/chain-restaurants/brinker-launches-no-cost-education-program-chili-s-and-maggiano-s-employees?utm_source=fs_insider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20180123