James Beard Foundation Awards honor six-seat eatery

(Photo by Kent Miller)

Considered the 'Oscars' of the US culinary world, the 21st annual James Beach Foundation ceremony, held at New York's Lincoln Center, recognizes the 'best and brightest' in America's culinary world, announcing its winners May 9.

The gala event awarded José Andrés of minibar in Washington, DC ( http://www.cafeatlantico.com/miniBar/miniBar.htm) as the Outstanding Chef of the year. The six-seat restaurant inside Café Atlántico features a tasting menu and unique snacks.

Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park in New York ( http://www.elevenmadisonpark.com/) was named outstanding restaurant in the US. With its tasting menu, it was also listed among S. Pellegrino's award winners of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

The best chef in the Pacific region was presented to San Francisco's Michael Tusk of Quince and Cotogna for its French/Italian cuisine ( http://www.quincerestaurant.com ).

An award was presented to Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ABC Kitchen in New York for Best New Restaurant, and Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon was named Rising Star Chef.

In the beverage and service categories, Julian P. Van Winkle III of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, won the Outstanding Professional award. Also, prizes were awarded to regional restaurants.

Last week, awards were given to Diana Kennedy's Mexican cuisine-focused Oaxaca al Gusto as Best Cookbook of the Year. Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking was placed in the Cookbook Hall of Fame.

Other categories included recipes, instruction, the environment, writing, desserts and more.

http://www.jbfawards.com and http://www.jamesbeard.org

RC