Founded in 1992, the James Beard Foundation Award honors exceptional achievements in food, beverage, and hospitality. The organization is open to all applicants, including chefs, writers, and producers of food and beverage products. Entries are accepted from all parts of the United States and the world. However, certain eligibility requirements apply to specific programs. Book and Journalism Awards have standard entry fees that are waived or reduced, and the Broadcast Awards are made possible through a special grant provided by the James Beard Foundation.
Owamni
Owamni, a Native American restaurant located in Minneapolis, has received a James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant. The award ceremony will take place June 13 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The award ceremony is a chance to recognize the best new restaurants in the country. In Minneapolis, Owamni was named one of three finalists for Best New Restaurant. Chef Sean Sherman, who is Native American, won the award for his innovative style.
The awards, which recognize the country’s best restaurants, were first presented in 1922. In Chicago, the awards are held each year in the city’s Lyric Opera Building. The event is streamed live on the James Beard Foundation’s Twitter account. A number of top chefs and restaurants are expected to attend, including Ashok Bajaj of the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, Angel Barreto of the barmini by Jose Andres restaurant, and Amy Brandwein of Centrolina in Washington, D.C.
The James Beard Awards returned to Chicago’s Lyric Opera on Monday. The ceremony featured a wider range of awardees than in previous years. Some honored their immigrant parents. Some spoke in Spanish and Sioux while accepting their awards. Others discussed their struggles in building a life in the United States. In addition to honoring immigrant chefs, some Native American and African-American chefs received the award for Best New Restaurant.
Many winners of this award represented the contributions of immigrants and other minorities to the culinary industry. Edgar Rico of Los Angeles won the Emerging Chef Award. Detroit pastry chef Warda Bouguettaya took home the Outstanding Pastry Chef Award. Other notable winners included Grace Young, who helped preserve Chinatowns during the Pandemic. Finally, pioneering public television host Martin Yan of Detroit Patisserie was honored with the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.
The awards ceremony honors culinary professionals throughout the United States. Winners are recognized for their exceptional achievements in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and the larger food system. The award is also given to culinary professionals who share a commitment to a culture where all can thrive. And this is not the only award ceremony for Native Americans. Thousands of other people have won a James Beard Award as well.
Quaintance-Weaver restaurant group
The Quaintance-Weaver restaurants and hotels, founded 28 years ago, have recently gone employee-owned. The company’s restaurants and hotels include the O. Henry Hotel, Green Valley Grill, Proximity Hotel, Print Works Bistro, Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, and Quaintance-Weaver Employee Stock Ownership Plan Trust. The company’s employee stock ownership plan trust grants retirement units to employees who work for the company for 20 hours a week.
Quaintance credits the restaurants’ local sustainability, quality ingredients, recent advancements in being green, and their staff for their nomination. Finalists will be announced March 23 in Chicago. To qualify, chefs must be working restaurateurs with at least 10 years of experience. If they meet these criteria, they will be considered for a James Beard Foundation award. However, there is a catch.
The restaurant group owns and operates six locations in North Carolina. Lucky 32 Southern Kitchens in Greensboro and Cary opened in 2001. The company now operates five additional restaurants and hotels within a mile of the original Lucky 32. The company also has restaurants in Asheville, Durham, and Durham. Among these are the O.Henry Hotel, Green Valley Grill, and the Proximity Hotel.
The Quaintance-Weaver’s restaurants and food culture are the beneficiaries of the James Beard Foundation Awards, which honor excellence in the culinary arts, hospitality, and the broader food system. In addition to honoring outstanding talent, the award recognizes the commitment to sustainability, community, and equity. Those who receive this prestigious honor receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation’s logo.
With the pandemic in restaurants across the country, the award from the James Beard Foundation is a beacon of hope for the restaurants and the industry. The Triangle restaurant group has received multiple James Beard Foundation Awards. Chefs Ben and Karen Barker, Andrea Reusing, and Ashley Christensen won Best Chef of the Southeast. In addition, Ben Barker and Ashley Christensen were named Outstanding Chefs of the US.
Quaintance-Weaver chef
The restaurant group Quaintance-Weaver has been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award, and both Dennis and Nancy Quaintance and Mike Weaver are national semifinalists in the Restaurant and Chef Awards, as well as the Outstanding Restaurateur award. Quaintance-Weaver runs the Lucky 32 restaurant, Green Valley Grill, and Print Works Bistro. Both Quaintance and Weaver are one of 20 semi finalists from across the country.
In addition to Lucky 32 Southern Kitchens in Cary and Greensboro, Quaintance-Weaver owns four restaurants in Greensboro, including the famous Print Works Bistro. He is a true innovator and has also partnered with UNCG to create restaurants in its hotels, such as the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro. His restaurant chain also operates four additional businesses within a mile of the O.Henry Hotel, Green Valley Grill, Proximity Hotel, and Print Works Bistro.
His entrepreneurial spirit was cultivated as early as age eight when he operated a rock stand along a highway in Nevada. By the age of fifteen, he had joined a hotel in Missoula, Montana, and climbed the ranks to become assistant general manager. He subsequently served in leadership roles at several luxury hotels in the Pacific Northwest. In 1989, Quaintance-Weaver opened the Lucky 32 restaurant in Greensboro.
In addition to Quaintance-Weaver, other North Carolina chefs include Katie Button, Greg Collier, and Peyton Smith. These chefs are among the finalists for several national awards. A cocktail bar in Durham has also been a semifinalist for the Outstanding Bar Program category. Owner Shannon Healy says that her semifinalist status validates her commitment to hand-crafted drinks.
In announcing the semifinalists, the James Beard Foundation has recognized many of the state’s best chefs. A recent semi-finalist includes Cheetie Kumar of Garland. Ricky Moore of Crooke Corner Cafe & Bar and Aaron Vandemark of Panciuto are also finalists. So, the future is bright for Quaintance-Weaver. The awards show celebrates excellence in culinary arts.
The new award category recognizes rising stars in the culinary world. The award, previously called the Rising Star, is now given to people under thirty years old and under the age of 30. The new Emerging Chef category is intended to recognize younger chefs in the country. In addition to the Quaintance-Weaver chef, the Asheville restaurant Curate was named a semifinalist in the category for Outstanding Hospitality.
