-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email The annual James Beard Awards — hailed as the biggest night for all things food and drink — took place Monday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This year’s showcase celebrated culinary achievements spanning across cuisines and a myriad of acclaimed chefs, restaurateurs, bartenders and other industry professionals. Chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Nyesha Arrington, Richard Blais, Tim Flores and Genie Kwon presented the regional awards, which spotlighted chefs in different parts of the nation.
Paul Smith, chef at 1010 Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia, and winner of Best Chef: Southeast, made history by becoming the first West Virginian to take home a James Beard Award. “Two words that have never been mentioned here before: West Virginia,” Smith said during his acceptance speech. Lord Maynard Llera won the Best Chef: California award for his Los Angeles-based restaurant Kuya Lord, focused on Southern Tagalog Region cuisine.
David Standridge won Best Chef: Northeast for his sustainable seafood spot The Shipwright's Daughter located in Mystic, Connecticut. Harley Peet secured the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award for Bas Rouge located in Easton, Maryland. And “Top Chef” alum Gregory Gourdet took home the Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific award for his Haitian-inspired culinary haven kaan , located in Portland, Oregon.
“Access to food is a basic human right and should never be used as a tool of war against innocent people,” Gourdet said..
