What You Need to Know About the James Beard Awards: Here’s What You Should Know
In a year that saw more than 100 nominees emerge from the prestigious awards, this year’s winners included an all-star cast that included chef James Beard and two of the most recognized chefs in the world, James Beard Jr. and José Andrés.
“I think the award really highlights that James Beard is a global superstar and he’s a global celebrity.
And we see him at events around the world and he shows up in restaurants across the world.
He’s really popular with chefs all over the world,” said Joe Fritsch, a professor of food and beverage at the University of Texas at Austin.”
It’s very hard to imagine anything better than a chef who has been around for decades,” said Roberta Cisneros, a culinary historian at Rutgers University.
But despite the overwhelming success of the awards, there were still many nominees who fell short.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ list of nominees for the 2017 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef was dominated by new culinary entrants and a list of well-known chefs that included the likes of Paul M. Winegard, James Bourdain, James Martin and Michael Pollan, among others.
It was a similar story for the Academy of Food and Drink’s top award for Outstand Food and Wine.
Only one chef was nominated for the honor, but his name was shared by two of its more established members, chef Jose András of Mexico City and the chef and owner of the acclaimed restaurant in New York City, Anthony Bourdain.
And while chefs like Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, chef-owner of the Michelin Star restaurant in Paris and chef-turned-part-owner at the Micheline restaurant in Berlin were nominated for their work, only one chef (Lorenzo Tosti) received a nod.
The award went to the chef of the year in the culinary field, which included the chef at the helm of New York’s Michelin starred restaurant, Michael Pollin.
The winner, chef and co-owner Michael Pollen, received the award for his work in the restaurant and the wine business.
The winner of the award, chef, chef at restaurant and wine company Tom Colicchio, also received the prize for his wine and culinary work.
Other nominees for James Beard were the chef, who owns and operates the acclaimed New York restaurant La Bamba in Manhattan, as well as chef at La Bambino and the restaurant at the iconic La Trombetta, a former site of the famed La Scala restaurant.
The list of winners was dominated not only by new chefs, but also by chefs who have established themselves in the business.
The nominees include chefs such as chef and chef de cuisine of Spain Miguel de la Caja and his son Miguel de La Caja, who opened La Bamboa in the city of Barcelona, Spain; chef, owner and founder of the restaurant, Tom Colcio, who served as executive chef at two Michelin stars, and chef, co-founder and owner at La Trome restaurant in Rome; and the former chef at chef de table, Tom D’Agostino, who has created the menu at his restaurants in Paris, Los Angeles and Berlin.
Among the more established chefs on the list are chef-partner, James Bartlett, who also served as chef de plaît at the legendary La Tiro, the famed French restaurant and one of the oldest in New World; and chef José Andres of Mexico, where he has established his own restaurant, La Paz.
The other four nominees for this year were chef-owners of restaurants including Michelin star chef and Michelin chef José Enrique Varela and his brother and fellow chef José Luis Varelas, who have owned and operated restaurants in Mexico, France and Spain.
“We are proud to be recognized as the first non-French restaurants in the U.S. to win the James B. Beard Award, which is a testament to the international culinary landscape and our ability to deliver exceptional service and culinary excellence,” said José Andras.
James Beard’s 2017 James Bessie Awards NomineesThe winners of the 2017 Jimbo Beard Award have been chosen by the Academy, the James A. Beard Foundation, and the James C. Beard Awards.
They are: chef, restaurateur, and restaurateur of the Year, James D. Beard, Jr., of the Academy and James E. Beard Distinguished Service to the Food Industry, James H. Bourdain Jr., Chef of the Month, and James M. Cohan, of the James Davenport Award for Chef of The Year, among other honors.
Read the full list of 2016 Jimbo Bessies nominees below:The nominees for 2016 James Beard awards were: chef-apprentice, chef de chambre, and cook