No name carries more weight in the culinary world than that of James Beard. The legendary chef and cookbook author rose from humble beginnings as a caterer in New York City in the late 1930s to become one of the leading voices of the American food landscape. Last night, the spotlight shone brightly across the entire field as the James Beard Foundation Awards were held at New York City’s Lincoln Center. Our Startle.com team is proud to announce that among the elite group of winners recognized at this year’s ceremony, several are a part of the Forbes Travel Guide family as tastemakers or chefs at Star-Rated restaurants. While we’d like to formally acknowledge the hard work that every award winner put in, our heartiest congratulations go out to the following individuals and fine dining institutions:
• Tastemaker Marcus Samuelsson, for his “Writing and Literature” award for his book Yes, Chef: A Memoir
• Normand Laprise, of the Four-Star restaurant Toqué!, for his “Cooking From A Professional Point of View” award for the book Toqué! Creators of a New Quebec Gastronomy
• Tastemaker Jancis Robinson for her “Beverage” award for the book Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours, which was co-written with Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz
• Tastemaker Anthony Bourdain for his “Television Program, On Location” award for The Mind of a Chef, the PBS program for which he serves as host and co-producer with Joe Caterini, Alexandra Chaden, Jonathan Cianfrani, Christopher Collins, Peter Meehan, Michael Steed and Lydia Tenaglia
• Tastemaker Stephanie Izard, of Girl & The Goat restaurant in Chicago, Il., for her “Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)” award
• Joseph Lenn, of the Four-Star restaurant The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tn., for his “Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)” award
• Christopher Kostow, of The Restaurant at Meadowood, a Four-Star restaurant in St. Helena, Ca., for his “Best Chef: West (CA, HI, NV)” award
• The Four-Star Del Posto restaurant in New York City for its “Outstanding Service” award
• Brooks Headley, of Del Posto, for “Outstanding Pastry Chef”
• Tastemaker David Chang of Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City for his “Outstanding Chef” award, for which he tied with chef Paul Kahan of Blackbird in Chicago, Il
• Tastemaker Grant Achatz’s The Aviary for “Outstanding Bar Program”
• Maguy Le Coze, of Five-Star restaurant Le Bernardin, for “Outstanding Restaurateur”
• Tastemaker Barbara Lynch and Michael Mina, owner of Star-Rated properties such as Stonehill Tavern, were inducted into the 2013 James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America class
Photos courtesy of Stephanie Izard, David Chang, Marcus Samuelsson, Jancis Robinson, Anthony Bourdain and the James Beard Foundation
