Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon in Portland, Ore., was honored as Rising Star Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation on Monday at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York.
The award kicked off a gala evening of what many consider to be the most prestigious chef awards in the industry. The event attracted some 2,000 attendees.
In a process reminiscent of the Academy Awards for film, nominees for the Beard awards and recipients of honorary recognitions — such as Humanitarian of the Year and inductees into the Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America — walked past paparazzi on a “red” carpet, actually colored green this year at the request of one of the sponsors.
The Rising Star award is presented to a chef aged 30 or younger “who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come.”
Other big winners of the night included Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen in New York, which was named the year’s best new restaurant, and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ founder Richard Melman of Chicago, who was named the year’s “Outstanding Restaurateur.”
Washington, D.C.-based chef José Andres won the award for Outstanding Chef, and Per Se in New York won the Outstanding Service award.
The Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional award was presented to Julian P. Van Winkle III of the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery in Louisville, Ky.
The Outstanding Restaurant Design award went to Aidin Darling Design for Bar Agricole in San Francisco, and the Outstanding Restaurant Graphics award was won by the design firm Love and War for The National Bar & Dining Room in New York.
Union Square Hospitality Group in New York won the most awards this year, picking up three of them. USHG’s Eleven Madison Park was named the year’s Outstanding Restaurant and its pastry chef, Angela Pinkerton, was named Outstanding Pastry Chef. In addition, The Modern’s beverage director Belinda Chang won the award for Outstanding Wine Service.
The city of Portland, Ore., also stood out, winning the Rising Star award and the award for best chef in the Northwest, which went to Andy Ricker of Pok Pok in that city.
The other regional awards went to:
• Alex Young of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Great Lakes region
• Michael Solomonov of Zahav in Philadelphia for the Mid-Atlantic
• Isaac Becker for 112 Eatery in Minneapolis for the Midwest
• Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune in New York, which is its own region
• Tony Maws of Craigie On Main in Cambridge, Mass., for New England
• Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco for the Pacific
• Stephen Stryjewski of Cochon in New Orleans for the South
• Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Southeast
A tie was declared for the Southwest region between Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas, and Tyson Cole of Uchi in Austin, Texas.
For more on the Beard award winners, click here.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]