Regardless of a strong and numerous illustration finally evening’s James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago, on the finish of the night, sadly, not one of the cooks from Washington State really walked away with a prize. Contenders included Yenvy and Quynh Pham of Pho Bac/The Boat/Phocific Commonplace Time (Seattle), who have been nominated within the Excellent Restaurateur class, and Janet Becerra of Pancita (Seattle), with a nom for Rising Chef. As nicely, Mike and Erin Easton of Bar Bacetto in Waitsburg, close to Walla Walla, have been up for Greatest New Restaurant.
In the meantime, Melissa Miranda of Musang (Seattle), Kristi Brown of Communion (Seattle), Avery Adams of Matia Kitchen (Eastsound, Orcas Island), Derek Bray of The Desk (Tacoma), Evan Leichtling of Off Alley (Seattle), and Grayson Corrales of MariPili Tapas Bar (Seattle) have been all vying for Greatest Chef: Northwest and Pacific. Moreover, Aaron Verzosa of Archipelago was competing for Excellent Chef, Ben Campbell of Ben’s Bread Co. was competing for Excellent Pastry Chef or Baker, soon-to-be-on-hiatus Eight Row was competing for Excellent Wine and Different Drinks Program, and The Walrus and the Carpenter was competing for Excellent Restaurant. However, considerably mystifyingly, none of them gained.
In fact, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska are additionally included within the Greatest Chef: Northwest and Pacific class, and simply down the road, Portland cleaned up as compared (unsurprisingly). Langbaan, celebrated for its Thai tasting menu, gained Excellent Restaurant, whereas multi-year James Beard nominee Gregory Gourdet snagged the coveted Greatest Chef: Northwest and Pacific award, for his Haitian restaurant, kann — which gained Greatest New Restaurant final 12 months.
If the heartbreak is an excessive amount of to take, nicely, discover solace in the truth that two quasi-Seattleites did take house James Beards this 12 months. Hajime Sato — who established groundbreaking sustainable sushi-ya Mashiko in West Seattle in 1994, earlier than promoting it in 2019 — gained Greatest Chef: Nice Lakes for his omakase restaurant Sozai, in suburban Detroit. As nicely, new-ish Seattleite J. Kenji López-Alt took house a James Beard Media Award for his cookbook, The Wok: Recipes and Strategies. Lopez-Alt moved to Seattle in late 2020 and experiences usually on meals and tradition right here, so it appears truthful to say him.
Congrats to the deliciously gifted winners and finalists alike, from all areas and classes, who’re all doing essential work — each culinary and cultural — no matter their award standing. There’s at all times subsequent 12 months, Washington.
