Charlie Mitchell of Clover Hill in Brooklyn Heights won the James Beard award for Best Chef in New York State Monday night.
Fariyal Abdullahi, the executive chef at Marcus Samuelsson’s new Hav & Mar in Chelsea, was nominated for the emerging chef award but ultimately fell short. That award went to Masako Morishita of Perry’s in Washington D.C.
Melba’s in Harlem is still in the running for the Outstanding Hospitality award, which has yet to be announced.
Brooklyn names dominated the New York-specific category this year, with Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh and Jeremy Salamon of Agi’s Counter also among the finalists.
For Mitchell, that’s a testament to the changing dynamics of dining in and around New York.
“There’s a little stigma in New York that the best things to do, like bars and dining, are in the city. We disagree, obviously,” he told Crain’s after winning the award. “We try to be ambassadors for Brooklyn, to put on for Brooklyn and show that. We’re trying to do a different version of fine dining that fits the neighborhood and fits the community.”
Atsushi Kono of Kono at 46 Bowery and Chris Mauricio of Harana Market in Accord were also up for the New York award. Junghyun Park of Atomix won the category last year.
The James Beard honor is far from Mitchell’s first accolade. In 2022, he became the first Black chef in New York City to earn a Michelin star.
The James Beard awards are akin to the Oscars of the restaurant world. Being named a James Beard finalist — and winning — often brings restaurants national recognition and new customers.
The awards, hosted in Chicago this year, are a glitzy, black-tie affair, for which general admission tickets cost $575. More than 1,500 people attended the red-carpeted evening. Chicago has played host to the Beard Awards annually since 2015, save for a pandemic interruption. The city is set to host them through 2027.
Jack Grieve , 2024-06-11 03:32:21
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