The winners of the 2015 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced last night at a lavish ceremony at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Alton Brown was the host.
Highlights from this year’s list of winners include:
Outstanding Chef: Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern, NYC
Outstanding Restaurant: Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Christina Tosi, Momofuku, NYC
Outstanding Restaurateur: Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group (Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, and others), Chicago, IL
Best New Restaurant: Bâtard, NYC
Rising Star Chef: Jessica Largey, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
Aaron Franklin of Franklin’s Barbecue in Austin made Texas proud. The man who took ten years to perfect the art of smoking a brisket won Best Chef: Southwest. It’s not just a victory for Franklin, it’s a tribute to the finesse, techniques, and dedication behind barbecue. (Or, Franklin won the largest culinary popularity contest in the world, but I digress.) Lucky for Franklin, his new book Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto, hit the stores in early April. Update: David Hale Smith reports the book is #10 on New York Times Best Sellers list after only three weeks.
Last year, Tim Byres took home an award for his Smoke: New Firewood Cooking which brings me to the sad news. Josh Ozersky, food writer, blogger, founder of Meatopia, and restaurant critic for Esquire magazine, was found dead in his room at the Conrad Chicago Hotel before the awards ceremony.
Ozersky was the author of Byres’ book and was in the process of researching a cookbook with Dallas chef John Tesar. Gothomist reports Ozersky revealed he had been diagnosed with gout in 2009 and wrote : “I won’t be altering my lifestyle at all, and that you can continue to expect the up-to-the-minute coverage of the city’s dining scene that only total bodily dedication can bring.” Ozersky was last seen singing karaoke in a bar at 4:40am. There is an autopsy today.
I “spoke” with John Tesar last night via text. “I loved Josh,” Tesar says. “I am devastated. He was one of us. He was true and honest and knew the past and was in touch with the future. He was a real lover of chefs and the traditions of chefs. It’s a rare quality these days.”
