Nicole Schnitzler Special to USA TODAY Monday night, the food and beverage world descended on the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 29th annual James Beard Foundation Awards, the highly anticipated gathering that recognizes the nation’s culinary front-runners across more than 20 categories. "Modern Family" actor and food blogger Jesse Tyler Ferguson hosted the event, bringing to the stage plenty of humorous moments and playful pep talks throughout the three-hour ceremony. “Just remember, everyone – you’re all winners,” he said. “Especially those of you who have won awards in previous years – because literally, you are all winners.” It was a first-time win for rising star chef of the year Kwame Onwuachi of Kith and Kin in Washington, D.C. “As I stand on this stage, I understand that I have a job to do, and we all do,” he said. “We can just continue to put out great food and give great service, or we can advocate for something to inspire the next generation and include everyone in the conversation of cooking.” It was an appropriate kickoff to this year’s event theme – “Good Food for Good” – a philosophy synonymous with the foundation’s mission of educating and empowering leaders in the food community. The message was further bolstered by humanitarian of the year recipient The Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based nonprofit providing emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and community resources. “When it came to giving back, my late husband Ryan Hidinger turned to six words: ‘Help food service workers in crisis,’” said co-founder Jen Hidinger. “We hope to be national one day, but until then, we want restaurants to provide these resources to their teams – and we want to support them in their efforts to do so.” The podium saw an array of notable speakers throughout the night, including actress Zooey Deschanel, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and NPR game show host and Chicagoan Peter Sagal, who introduced the evening’s regional best chef categories with biting humor. “Usually, the expectation is that if we succeed in our region, we deserve to go live on the coasts,” he said. “Well, sometimes we don’t – sometimes we decide that you don’t deserve us.” Those regional wins went to Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark of Parachute (Chicago), Tom Cunanan of Bad Saint (Washington, D.C.), Ann Kim of Young Joni (Minneapolis), Jody Williams and Rita Sodi of Via Carota (New York City), Tony Messina of Uni (Boston), Brady Williams of Canlis (Seattle), Vishwesh Bhatt of Snackbar (Oxford, Mississippi), Mashama Bailey of The Grey (Savannah, Georgia), Charleen Badman of FnB (Scottsdale, Arizona), and Michael Cimarusti of Providence (Los Angeles). Other medals were awarded to Frenchette (New York City) for best new restaurant, Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner (Raleigh, North Carolina) for outstanding chef, Kelly Fields of Willa Jean (New Orleans) for outstanding pastry chef, and fourth-time nominees Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz of Boka Restaurant Group (Chicago) for outstanding restaurateur. “This win is a dream come true for both of us,” says Boehm. “It represents all of the hard work by our entire team over the last 16 years, and being able to accept it in our hometown makes it especially sweet.” The 2019 James Beard Award winners Restaurant and chef awards 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, North Carolina Outstanding pastry chef Kelly Fields, Willa Jean, New Orleans Outstanding restaurant Zahav, Philadelphia Outstanding restaurateur Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago Outstanding service Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado Outstanding wine program Benu, San Francisco Outstanding wine, spirits or beer producer Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine Rising star chef of the year Kwame Onwuachi, Kith and Kin, Washington, D.C. Best chefs in America Best chef: Great Lakes Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Parachute, Chicago Best chef: Mid-Atlantic Tom Cunanan, Bad Saint, Washington, D.C. Best chef: Midwest Ann Kim, Young Joni, Minneapolis Best chef: New York City Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, Via Carota Best chef: Northeast Tony Messina, Uni, Boston Best chef: Northwest Brady Williams, Canlis, Seattle Best chef: South Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, Mississippi Best chef: Southeast Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia Best chef: Southwest Charleen Badman, FnB, Scottsdale, Arizona Best chef: West Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles America’s Classics honorees Pho 79, Garden Grove, California Jim’s Steak & Spaghetti House, Huntington, West Virginia A&A Bake & Double Roti Shop, New York City Sehnert's Bakery & Bieroc Cafe, McCook, Nebraska Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse, Washington, D.C. Humanitarian of the year The Giving Kitchen Lifetime achievement award Patrick O’Connell Restaurant design awards 75 seats and under Studio Writers, Atomix, New York City 76 seats and over Parts and Labor Design, Pacific Standard Time, Chicago Other eating and drinking places Schwartz and Architecture, El Pípila, San Francisco Design icon Canlis, Seattle<doc-sep>A year ago, the James Beard Foundation — named for an “exuberantly gay man” whose loves and lifestyle could not be embraced, let alone mentioned, in polite society during his lifetime — handed out 11 medals to women, people of color or both. This year, the names of another 12 women and/or people of color were called out from the podium. Inclusivity would appear to be the new normal for the James Beard Awards, less than a year after the organization announced rule changes to diversify its powerful committees that help decide the nominees.<doc-sep>Last night, the James Beard Foundation feted the stars of the American restaurant world with its annual awards ceremony. While last year felt like a tidal wave of necessary change, this year gave awards obsessives a glimpse, maybe, into what a new baseline for the awards might be. The foundation took steps to diversify its restaurant committee, the group responsible for creating the semifinalist list. That list has been, year over year, one of the most diverse and exciting lists in the awards game. When it comes to dealing with the fallout from the #MeToo movement in the restaurant world, the foundation has taken bad actors out of the voting body, but has stopped short of stripping them of their medals. Theming this year’s event around a new mission statement, “good food for good,” it’s clear the foundation no longer wants to play a role in perpetuating the systemic issues that plague the restaurant world. Did it work? Sort of: Related Here Is the Full List of James Beard Awards 2019 Winners This year’s winners were a diverse group. That’s good. It could have been even better. As Korsha Wilson wrote last year in the wake of historic 2018 wins for black chefs, including Edouardo Jordan, Nina Compton, Rodney Scott, and Dolester Miles, shifting the makeup of the voting body (comprised in large part by past winners) helps shift perception about what award-worthy restaurants and chefs look like. “A more immediate change is that these chefs will become part of the voting body for next year’s awards,” Wilson wrote. “They can lead the charge when it comes to upholding the recent trend toward diverse nominees.” Last night, 10 out of 16 awards that go to people, not restaurants, went to women or people of color. Ashley Christensen took home the medal for Outstanding Chef her second year nominated — in the past, women have had to be nominated many times (and many times more than men) to get the win. In the regional categories, many women who were previously nominated won: Ann Kim (Best Chef: Midwest), Beverly Kim (Best Chef: Great Lakes, with husband Johnny Clark), and Mashama Bailey (Best Chef: Southeast), and once again, the Best Chef: New York award went to a woman — or rather, two women: Rita Sodi and Jody Williams. It’s hard to overstate D.C. chef and author Kwame Onwuachi’s achievement in winning Rising Star Chef on his first year nominated. (Past Eater data suggests a previous nomination helps in the category.) That he did it as a black chef serving food that celebrates African foodways is all the more singular in the history of the awards. Onwuachi is the first black chef to win this particular award since Marcus Samuelsson in 1999, a gap of 20 years. Together, Onwuachi and Samuelsson are the only black Rising Stars in the award’s 28-year history. Last year, 11 out of 16 chef winners were women or people of color or both; I hope this year’s comparable numbers suggest a long-term values shift in the voting body and not just a one-year course correction. But I’m also still mulling over the fact that last night, immediately after Onwuachi gave a rousing speech calling on the community to recognize cooking as the inclusive craft it can be and highlighting the significance of his Rising Star Chef win — “54 years ago, the last restaurant was integrated and Jim Crow was lifted. And here I am, my ancestors’ wildest dreams,” he said — Beard winner Greg Wade flattened the complexity of systemic discrimination that plays out through America’s food system with an “all lives matter” speech. Accepting his award for Outstanding Baker, Wade said: “We have one food system — for the 1 percent, for the 99 percent, for Democrats, for Republicans, for Black Lives Matter, for Blue Lives Matter. And we all have to start working together.” A restaurant culture that routinely excludes women and people of color; a food system where Americans who live at or below the poverty line do not have the same access to fresh food that wealthy Americans do; an agricultural system that exploits vulnerable undocumented immigrants; a country in which cops shoot unarmed black citizens with impunity: You could say that’s one system. But that one system is a system of inequality, of racism, of sexism. A message of togetherness suggests a current system that’s worth maintaining; I’d love to hear more calls for breaking that system down. Let’s talk about pizza and sushi. It’s not that pizza makers are never honored by the foundation: Nancy Silverton won Outstanding Chef in 2014 specifically for her work at Pizzeria Mozza; Jim Lahey won Outstanding Baker in 2014 for Sullivan Street Bakery; and Chris Bianco was 2003’s Best Chef: Southwest for his legendary Phoenix pizzeria. And Minneapolis’s Young Joni, an Eater Best New Restaurant in 2017, doesn’t only serve pizza. But when its chef, Ann Kim, took home a medal (and delivered one of the night’s best speeches), it still marked a big push forward for the awards to recognize pizza as an exceptional American cuisine. Chefs who make pizza rarely win these dang medals in the regional categories. I hope Kim’s win changes that. Likewise chefs who focus on Japanese cuisine: Last night, Tony Messina took home a regional Best Chef medal for his work at Boston’s hit Japanese restaurant Uni. It’s great that the foundation is increasingly rewarding Japanese restaurants — Eater Young Gun (’17) Jesse Ito was nominated as a Rising Star Chef for his work at Royal Izakaya, though he didn’t win.<doc-sep>Text size One day after celebrating its 11th anniversary, Philadelphia’s modern Israeli eatery Zahav was awarded the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant at the James Beard Awards in Chicago on Monday night. “It’s amazing to be recognized by our peers for our hard work,” says Steven Cook, a partner at Zahav. This is the first time the restaurant has been named best restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. Previously, chef and co-owner Michael Solomonov was named the outstanding chef in America in 2017, the same year that he won the book of the year award for Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. The restaurant was nominated for outstanding service in 2017 and 2018. For more than 30 years, the James Beard Foundation has recognized culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in the categories including restaurant, restaurateur, chef, and restaurant design. The awards are known as “the Oscars of the food world.” The 2019 award gala was held Monday night at Lyric Opera of Chicago, emceed by Emmy-nominated actor and Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The Outstanding Chef award went to Ashley Christensen, chef of Poole’s Diner in Raleigh, NC. Additionally, the foundation recognized best chefs in different regions across the country— Tony Messina of Uni in Boston, Mass., as best chef in the Northeast; Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah, Ga., best chef in the Southeast; Michael Cimarusti of Providence in Los Angeles as best chef in the West; and Jody Williams and Rita Sodi of Via Carota, as best chefs in New York City. New York City’s Frenchette, a contemporary French bistro, took the prize for Best New Restaurant at the awards. (Click here for a full list of 2019 James Beard Award winners.) Mike Solomonov and Steven Cook, co-owners of Zahav Michael Perisco But arguably the night’s biggest prize went to downtown Philadelphia’s Zahav. Formerly a banker and French Culinary Institute-trained chef, Cook founded Zahav (which translates to ‘gold’ in Hebrew) 11 years ago with Solomonov. “Most people equate Israeli cuisine to Middle Eastern food. In reality, Israeli cuisine is more dynamic, representing over 200 cultures in the country,” Cook says. Solomonov was born in Israel, and Cook also spent a lot of time there. “We want to introduce modern casual Israeli cuisine to America,” he says. The restaurant is famed for its pita, hummus and “salatim,” or salads that are meant to be shared. “You can taste dozens of things," Cook says. "It’s an exciting way to eat and share with friends."<doc-sep>
Standing at the dais at the James Beard Foundation awards Monday night in Chicago, Kwame Onwuachi accepted the award for Rising Star Chef of the Year by acknowledging his amazing personal journey and the history of African-American cooks at large. Shortly after winning the first medal of the night, the Kith and Kin chef spoke about how just eight years ago, he was selling candy on a subway in New York to finance a dream of cooking professionally. Five decades earlier, he wouldn’t have been allowed to eat in many restaurants, let alone lead one. Now he crafts the cutting edge Afro-Caribbean menu at a restaurant inside the posh InterContinental hotel in Southwest D.C. “54 years ago is when the last restaurant was integrated and Jim Crow was lifted, and here I am,” Onwuachi said, “my ancestors’ wildest dreams.” 2019 Rising Chef Star of the Year! #jbfa pic.twitter.com/I71qflKfRA — James Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) May 6, 2019 The Beard foundation describes the Rising Star as “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.” Since opening Kith and Kin in October of 2017, Onwuachi, 29, has drawn critical acclaim for his refined approach to jollof rice, oxtails, and curried goat. He’s also opened locations of fast-casual restaurant Philly Wing Fry — known for beef fat toasted rolls, 50-day dry-aged beef, and tamarind-chile chicken wings — inside a Capitol Hill Whole Foods and at Union Market. Onwuachi, a Top Chef alum, recently published a memoir, Notes From a Young Black Chef, in which he describes the institutional challenges he faced while rising through the ranks of overwhelmingly white fine-dining kitchens. Upon accepting his award, Onwuachi said that after fulfilling his dream, he knows he still has a job to do, along with everything else in the room: “We can include everyone in the conversation of cooking.” To win the award, Onwuachi beat out Ana Castro of Coquette in New Orleans; Alisha Elenz of MFK in Chicago; Alexander Hong of Sorrel in San Francisco; Jesse Ito of Royal Izakaya in Philadelphia; and Jonathan Yao of Kato in Los Angeles. Later in the evening, Tom Cunanan of Bad Saint in Columbia Heights accepted the award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic after being named a finalist for the third year in a row. Cunanan, a former Ardeo/Bardeo sous chef who cooked at Vidalia, Zentan, and D.C. Coast, embraced his Filipino heritage when he helped open Bad Saint in 2015. Ever since, the tiny restaurant has commanded huge lines of loyals who queue up for the chef’s lechon, kinilaw, and crab floating in crab fat. Bad Saint has notably been snubbed by Michelin’s D.C. guide, which may make the win feel even sweeter for the chef. Cunanan’s win meant that Centrolina chef Amy Brandwein would finish as a finalist for the regional award for the third year running. The other nominees this year were Rich Landau of Vedge in Philadelphia; Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa; and Cindy Wolf of Charleston in Baltimore. For the Beard committee’s purposes, the Mid-Atlantic includes D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Another D.C.-based talent came up short in the category for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Pichet Ong, the man behind the towering, dome-shaped layer cakes at Brothers and Sisters in Adams Morgan, was part of a field that lost out to Kelly Fields of Willa Jean in New Orleans. Jaleo, the Spanish cornerstone of José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup empire, was a finalist for Outstanding Restaurant, which ultimately went to Zahav in Philadelphia. The other nominees were Balthazar in New York City, FIG in Charleston, and Quince in San Francisco. The Beard foundation previously announced two other D.C.-area standbys would be honored with awards. Inn at Little Washington chef and founder Patrick O’Connell won this year’s lifetime achievement award, and Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse was designated this year’s America’s Classic in the Mid-Atlantic region. Last year, the only D.C. chef to leave the gala with a medal was Jeremiah Langhorne, who won Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for his reverent regional cooking at the Dabney. For the full list of 2019 winners, go here. Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards