The Philadelphia restaurant Zahav, Kwame Onwuachi of the Washington, D.C. restaurant Kith and Kin, and the partners behind Chicago’s Boka Restaurant Group were among those honored at the glittering James Beard Foundation Awards gala in Chicago on Monday night.
The star-studded event, held at the Lyric Opera and live-streamed on Twitter for the first time, is sometimes described as the Oscars of the culinary world — though host Jesse Tyler Ferguson explained for the non-TV-watching audience that “the Oscars are like the James Beard Awards, but for movies.”
Winners this year reflected a shift by the nonprofit organization, which last year changed the awards process to ensure more diversity and inclusivity across the industry.
Here’s a look at the winners:
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Kwame Onwuachi
Kith and Kin
Washington, D.C.
Best New Restaurant
Frenchette
New York City
Outstanding Baker
Greg Wade
Publican Quality Bread
Chicago
Outstanding Bar Program
Bar Agricole
San Francisco
Outstanding Chef
Ashley Christensen
Poole’s Diner
Raleigh, N.C.
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Kelly Fields
Willa Jean
New Orleans
Outstanding Restaurant
Zahav
Philadelphia
Outstanding Restaurateur
Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz
Boka Restaurant Group (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, and others)
Chicago
Outstanding Service
Frasca Food and Wine
Boulder, Colo.
Outstanding Wine Program
Benu
San Francisco
Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Producer
Rob Tod
Allagash Brewing Company
Portland, Maine
Best Chef: Great Lakes (Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio)
Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark
Parachute
Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (Del., Md., N.J., Pa., Va. and Washington, D.C.)
Tom Cunanan
Bad Saint
Washington, D.C.
Best Chef: Midwest (Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D., Wis.)
Ann Kim
Young Joni
Minneapolis
Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
Jody Williams and Rita Sodi
Via Carota
Best Chef: Northeast (Conn., Mass., Maine, N.H., N.Y., R.I., Vt.)
Tony Messina
Uni
Boston
Best Chef: Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Mont., Ore., Wash., Wyo.)
Brady Williams
Canlis
Seattle
Best Chef: South (Ala., Ark., Fla., La., Miss. and Puerto Rico)
Vishwesh Bhatt
Snackbar
Oxford, Miss.
Best Chef: Southeast (Ga., Ky., N.C., S.C., Tenn., W. Va.)
Mashama Bailey
The Grey
Savannah, Ga.
Best Chef: Southwest (Ariz., Colo., N.M., Okla., Texas, Utah)
Charleen Badman
FnB
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Best Chef: West (Calif., Hawaii, Nevada)
Michael Cimarusti
Providence
Los Angeles
Lifetime Achievement
Patrick O’Connell
Inn at Little Washington
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]
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