This NC Chef Was Just Named Best In US: 2019 James Beard Awards

A North Carolina chef was honored with a James Beard Award at a ceremony in Chicago, winning the distinction as the best chef in the country. The awards are considered the Oscar Awards of the culinary industry.

The awards were presented in the restaurant, chef and restaurant design categories on Monday. Special achievement awards were presented for Lifetime Achievement, Design Icon, America’s Classics and Humanitarian of the Year.

Chef Ashley Christensen, who is the culinary force behind Poole’s Diner and other eateries in Raleigh, won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef. She is the first chef from the state to ever win the honor, the News and Observer reported.

Governor Roy Cooper offered his congratulations Tuesday morning, tweeting “Time for some celebratory @poolesdiner Mac and Cheese.”

Watch Christensen’s acceptance speech:

HERE’S THE COMPLETE LIST OF 2019 WINNERS

2019 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards

• Studio Writers, for Atomix in New York City (75 seats and under);
• Parts and Labor Design, for Pacific Standard Time in Chicago (76 seats and over)

• Schwartz and Architecture for El Pípila in San Francisco (other eating and drinking places).
• Design Icon: Canlis, Seattle.

2019 James Beard Foundation Restaurant And Chef Awards

• Best New Restaurant: Frenchette, New York City;
• Outstanding Baker: Greg Wade, Publican Quality Bread, Chicago;
• Outstanding Bar Program: Bar Agricole, San Francisco;
• Outstanding Chef: Ashley Christensen, Poole’s Diner, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Outstanding Pastry Chef: Kelly Fields, Willa Jean, New Orleans;
• Outstanding Restaurant: Zahav, Philadelphia;
• Outstanding Restaurateur: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, and others), Chicago;
• Outstanding Service: Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado;
• Outstanding Wine Program: Benu, San Francisco;
• Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Producer: Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine;
• Rising Star Chef of the Year: Kwame Onwuachi, Kith and Kin, Washington, D.C.

Best Chefs in America

• Great Lakes region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio): Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Parachute, Chicago;
• Mid-Atlantic (District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia): Tom Cunanan, Bad Saint, Washington, D.C.;
• Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin): Ann Kim, Young Joni, Minneapolis
• New York City (Five Boroughs): Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, Via Carota;
• Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York state, Rhode Island and Vermont): Tony Messina, Uni, Boston;
• Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming): Brady Williams, Canlis, Seattle;
• South (Alabama, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi): Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, Mississippi;
• Southeast (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia): Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia;
• Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah): Charleen Badman, FnB, Scottsdale, Arizona;
• West (California, Hawaii and Nevada): Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles.

2019 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics Honorees

• Pho 79, Garden Grove, California, owned by Tho Trần and Liễu Trần;

• Jim’s Steak & Spaghetti House, Huntington, West Virginia, owned by Jimmie Tweel Carder, Larry Tweel, and Ron Tweel:
• A&A Bake & Double Roti Shop, Brooklyn, New York, owned by Noel and Geeta Brown;
• Sehnert's Bakery & Bieroc Café, McCook, Nebraska, owned by Matt and Shelly Sehnert; and
• Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse, Washington, D.C., owned by Paul Katinas.

2019 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year

• The Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance to food-service workers through financial support and a network of community resources.

2019 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award

• Patrick O’Connell, five-time James Beard Award winner, three-star Michelin chef, author, and owner of The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.

Gala reception chefs from across the country included past James Beard Award winners and many who are involved in the foundation’s signature impact-oriented initiatives, from Smart Catch to Women’s Leadership Programs to the Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change.

Nearly 2,000 people attended the gala, held at Lyric Opera in Chicago. The ceremony was emceed by Emmy-nominated actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. VIP guests were treated to a multi-course dinner and experience in the mezzanine boxes during the awards show prepared by chefs from the esteemed Union Square Hospitality Group.