Best NYC Chef winner Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park), with Outstanding Restaurant winner Daniel Boulud (Daniel)
The country's top toques descended on Lincoln Center Monday night for the annual schmooze-fest know as the James Beard Awards, celebrating the culinary world's best and brightest. Which means: chefs + champagne = great quotes!
Although initially there were grumblings that NYC wasn't as well represented as previous years—the city was completely shut out of the Rising Star Chef category—Gotham chefs and restaurants nevertheless dominated all the major categories. Winners included Tom Colicchio (Outstanding Chef), Daniel (Best Restaurant), Keith McNally (Outstanding Restaurateur), Jean Georges (Wine Service) and Marea (Best New Restaurant), while Eleven Madison Park's Daniel Humm took home the award for Best NYC Chef—a stellar bookend to his recent NY Times four-star review.
We caught up with the chefs on the red carpet, in the green room and at the gala banquet afterward, where second-generation chefs like Marc Forgione and Cedric Vongerichten prepped bites for the attendees. A preview, perhaps, of future Beard winners to come?
By Alexis L. Loinaz and Matt Rodbard; photos by Jori Klein Jacobs
