Food & Wine Honors The Best New Chefs Of 2017 At Celeb-Studded Gala

Last night, Food & Wine's editor-in-chief, Nilou Motamed, honored 12 chefs — Yoshi Okai (Otoko), Val Cantu (Californios), Peter Cho (Han Oak), Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson (Kismet), Noah Sandoval (Oriole), Jordan Kahn (Destroyer), Nina Compton (Compère Lapin), Diego Galicia and Rico Torres (Mixtli), Angie Mar (The Beatrice Inn), and Jay Blackinton (Hogstone's Wood Oven) — with the title of "Food & Wine's Best New Chefs 2017."

The event, which was held at Rock & Reilly's in the Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel, featured appearances by titans of the culinary world such as Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons; the host of Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern; and Chopped judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, and Geoffrey Zakarian.

Many of the list's past honorees provided food, including sheep's-milk ricotta gnudi with seasonal vegetables from April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig), pork deckle chops with huitlacoche by Alex Stupak (Empellón), rye porridge with uni and lovage from Jeremiah Stone and Fabián Von Hauske (Contra and Wildair), corned beet on rye slider buns with cabbage and horseradish by Andrew Carmellini (Little Park), and Beijing-spiced lamb meatballs, potato puree, and black vinegar reduction from Top Chef Season 14 finalist Shirley Chung. Guests were also treated to bite-sized walk-arounds created by Chai Trivedi, with the stand-out dish being an immaculately-fried macaroni and cheese croquette with shaved black truffle, lobster, and red pepper aïoli.

But what would a Food & Wine event be without flowing libations? Fortunately, Stella Artois, OPICI WINES, and Prairie Organic Spirits were sponsors of the evening and provided guests and chefs with enough beer, cider, cocktails, and wine to make for a very rough Wednesday morning. (S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna waters were offered to guests as they exited as a last ditch effort to dodge a brutal hangover.) DJ Prince, the fifteen year-old phenom, got the event going with a terrific DJ set, but like all memorable evenings, the celebration ended amidst a flurry of Latin music and salsa dancing led by Chopped judge Marc Murphy (the man can really move).

Congratulations again to Food & Wine's 2017 class of best new chefs.