Final night time’s James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago contained many fantastic issues: Shout-outs to affected person spouses. Acknowledgments of sobriety. A number of winners repping conventional Japanese clothes. What the night didn’t comprise: any winners from Washington state.
However we do have a robust connection to one of many cooks who walked away with a medal. Hajime Sato based the sushi restaurant Mashiko in West Seattle in 1994. In 2009, he went all in on sustainable seafood. He took requirements like bluefin tuna off the menu and put in a rigorous set of pointers and a few responsibly fished menu gadgets to match. Right now this stays a daring selection. Fifteen years in the past, it was nothing wanting revolutionary.
Mashiko helped transfer the dialog round sustainable fisheries ahead in Seattle. A decade later, in 2019, he offered the restaurant to a few longtime workers members and moved to Michigan, his spouse’s house state. Final night time, Sato received Greatest Chef: Nice Lakes for his restaurant, Sozai, in Clawson, Michigan. And he seemed nice doing it; the chef wore a conventional obi, yakata, and haori to the black-tie ceremony. Hajime, we knew you when.
Seattle had a tough night time medal-wise, however an incredible slate of nominees suited and gowned up for the occasion; Excellent Restaurateur finalists Quynh and Yenvy Pham even wore customized matching jackets. Our state went into this weekend with some sturdy illustration. Mike and Erin Easton flew out from Waitsburg to contend within the Greatest New Restaurant class. Janet Becerra of Pancita was up for Rising Chef.
Finalists within the Greatest Chef: Northwest and Pacific class included Kristi Brown of Communion, Melissa Miranda of Musang, Avery Adams of Matia on Orcas Island. Portland chef Gregory Gourdet received in that class, one 12 months after Kann took house the Greatest New Restaurant medal.
He stood earlier than the gang at Chicago’s Lyric Opera in a incredible feathered jacket (its colours representing the nationwide chook of Haiti) and spoke of his transfer to Oregon being a turning level in his sobriety. Now, he says, “I’m able to gratefully work at a hub for Haitian tradition and Haitian storytelling—in one of the random locations: the Pacific Northwest.”
Portland additionally took house one of many night time’s largest awards. The workforce behind Langbaan received for Excellent Restaurant. Proprietor Akkapong “Earl” Ninsom was emotional throughout his speech; he spoke of a tough 12 months that included his spouse’s most cancers analysis. As our colleagues at Portland Month-to-month put it, “Langbaan has endured as Portland’s hardest desk to ebook (perhaps it’s a tie with Kann today).”
Right here comes the compulsory disclosure that I’m concerned with the awards’ restaurant and chef committee. It’s an advanced feeling to have pleasure for deserving winners and frustration that Washington is overdue for recognition it deserves. So let’s return to one of many night time’s most enduring messages: Operating a restaurant—particularly an incredible one—is extremely onerous, life-consuming work. Particularly proper now, between excessive prices and years of unrelenting uncertainty. Celebrating our cooks with medals can be good, however celebrating them with our enterprise issues extra.
