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Good things come in twos for Kansas City food and restaurant luminaries.
It started with chefs Debbie Gold (40 Sardines) and Michael Smith (Michael Smith) winning a James Beard Award in 1999. The equivalent of a culinary Oscar, their best chef of the Midwest award put Kansas City on the culinary roadmap.
In 2007, nominees Colby Garrelts (Bluestem) and Celina Tio (the American Restaurant) were Kansas City’s dynamic duo, and Tio took home the coveted gold medallion.
This year Garrelts gets another nod for the progressive American cuisine at his chic Westport restaurant, and The Kansas City Star’s food editor, Jill Wendholt Silva, is nominated for “Food Stamp Challenge: One Week, Four People and a Tight Budget.” The article chronicled her family’s attempts to cope with the hidden stresses of living on limited food resources. Read the story here.
The Star’s Food section won a James Beard Award for best section in 2004. Silva was also nominated for best newspaper series in 2002. 2008 media award winners will be announced June 6 at a ceremony at the New York Millennium Broadway Hotel.
Other nominees for best chef of the Midwest include several names from last year’s slate: Tim McKee of La Belle Vie (Minneapolis), Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma (Minneapolis) and Alex Siegel of Bartolotta Lake Park Bistro (Milwaukee). Joining them is Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery (Minneapolis). Chef winners will be named at a gala dinner at the Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center on June 8.
Other nominees for feature writing with recipes include Ronni Lundy of the Santa Fe New Mexican and Katy McLaughlin of TheWall Street Journal.
The James Beard Foundation is dedicated to promoting America’s culinary heritage. James Beard was a cookbook author, culinary teacher and champion of American cuisine. After his death in 1985, the Beard Foundation was formed to educate and mentor professional chefs and food enthusiasts.
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