- The James Beard Foundation has been presenting the awards since 1991, except for 2020 and 2021, when the organization eliminated them as the restaurant industry struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The most anticipated categories include awards for outstanding restaurateur, chef and restaurant. This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago on June 10.
- The James Beard Foundation has overhauled its awards after receiving criticism for a lack of racial diversity and allegations about the behavior of some nominees.
An East African eatery in Detroit, longtime family-run pho shops in Seattle, and a Palestinian chef using ancient cooking techniques in Washington, D.C., are among the dozens of finalists for this year’s prestigious James Beard Award.
The culinary equivalent of the Oscars will honor restaurants and chefs in 22 categories at Monday’s ceremony. in Chicago,
Nominees cover a wide variety of cuisines and chef experiences, a recent change for the James Beard Foundation after turbulent, pandemic-era years. The most anticipated categories include awards for outstanding restaurateur, chef, and restaurant.
Hamisi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere, who fled Burundi nearly a decade ago and now own Baobab Fair in Detroit, are among five finalists in the outstanding restaurant category. The couple faced a tough road to starting a business in the US as refugees
His restaurant’s menu includes kuku, which is fried chicken in a spicy mustard-onion sauce, served with fried bananas, boiled yellow beans, and coconut rice.
“We inspire a lot of people – refugees who are coming to this country with no hope and thinking that one day they can win a title like this,” Mamba said. “It’s a huge thing for us, because we want to show people that this world can be equal.”
(Hamissi Mamba speaks to customers at his restaurant, Baobab Fare, in Detroit on May 24, 2024.)
The James Beard Foundation has presented the awards since 1991, except in 2020 and 2021, when the organization ended them as the restaurant industry struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic and faced criticism over a lack of racial diversity and allegations about the behavior of some nominees. Foundation officials vowed to improve ethical standards and “be more reflective of the industry.”
Restaurants apply for the awards. Judges, who are mostly anonymous, try the dishes before voting. Food Reviewed In addition, a behavioral “Code of Ethics” has been created, including how employees will be treated.
“We’re looking at the whole picture,” said Tanya Holland, chair of the awards committee.
For restaurants, simply being a finalist can bring wider recognition and boost business. Paul Freedman, a Yale University professor who specializes in food history, said restaurant awards have become less common in recent years, giving the James Beard awards even more importance.
“It really brings attention to restaurants that aren’t very well known outside of their area,” he said.
A Seattle family credited with bringing the first pho shop to the city in the 1980s is also a finalist for outstanding restaurateur with a trio of pho restaurants and a chicken and rice shop called The Boat.
Yenvy Pham, whose parents opened their first restaurant after emigrating from Vietnam, says a bowl of their pho, with its meaty bone broth and scent of fennel and clove, is “a sure thing.” They make the soup fresh, 24 hours a day, every day.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s a huge honor.”
Other restaurateur finalists include Chris Viad (who runs three restaurants in New Hampshire), Hollis Wells Silverman (Eastern Point Collective which runs several restaurants in Washington, D.C.), and Erica and Kelly Whittaker (restaurates in Boulder, Colorado).
Some finalists have already been lauded, including Michael Rafeedie, whose Washington, D.C.-based restaurant Albi has been awarded the coveted Michelin star in 2022. He is among five finalists for Outstanding Chef.
Albi, which means “my heart” in Arabic, pays homage to Rafidi’s Palestinian roots by using old-world food preparation techniques. Everything is cooked over coals, including the grape leaves stuffed with lamb and the meat pie, sfiha.
“My mission is to spread light and cook Palestinian food,” he said.
Another finalist for outstanding major is David Uygur, who runs a small Italian restaurant in Dallas. Lucia’s features fresh pasta made in-house and a popular cured meat board. The menu changes seasonally.
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Uighurs, whose fathers are Turkish, became increasingly interested in Italian food Because of love. His high school girlfriend, now his wife, loved Italian cuisine. He was looking for a sense of intimacy in his restaurant with just nine tables.
“I wanted the restaurant to feel like someone was coming to our home to eat,” he said. Guests in our house,
Other Outstanding Chef finalists include Sarah Minnick for Lovely’s Fifty Fifty in Portland, Oregon, Dean Neff of Seabird in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Renee Touponce for The Port of Call in Mystic, Connecticut.
