Seattle's JuneBaby Named Best New Restaurant At 2018 James Beard Awards

Yelp/JuneBaby
Lily Rose|

On May 7, while the toast of Hollywood and New York gathered in Manhattan to show off their Catholic art-inspired fashions for the Met Gala, the Oscars of the food world went on in Chicago. The Lyric Opera of Chicago had the honor of rolling out the red carpet for the 2018 James Beard Awards ceremony. There was an empowering speech by chef José Andrés, awards host Carla Hall took a tumble, and chef Edouardo Jordan of Seattle restaurants Salare and JuneBaby swept the event with two prestigious awards.

Jordan took home "Best New Restaurant" for JuneBaby, and the chef was also the recipient of "Best Chef: Northwest." Jordan and Junebaby are currently on a roll; in March, the Southern food restaurant scored a three-star review from New York Times critic Pete Wells. He is the first black chef to win "Best New Restaurant."

Other big winners included Gabrielle Hamilton, who won the award for "Outstanding Chef"; barbecue pitmaster Rodney Scott, who took home "Best Chef"; Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, who were awarded "Outstanding Baker"; and five-time nominated chef Dominique Crenn, who took home "Best Chef: West." She is the first female chef to win "Best Chef: West," in 11 years.

This year's awards theme was "RISE," meant to celebrate the spirit of community, the power of food, and the championing of causes. It made perfect sense that chef José Andrés, who worked tirelessly in Puerto Rico to feed millions of meals to displaced Americans and who Time recently selected as one of the 100 most influential people of 2018, was the humanitarian of the year. During his acceptance speech, Andrés highlighted what the food and restaurant industry needs to change, especially with regard to the equal treatment of women in all workplaces and supporting their professional rise.

"We need to nourish schools to empower women to be agents of change in the hospitality industry, sustainable farms, or bakeries or restaurants, where the profits support the community's most needy citizens," Andrés said. "Men, it seems we get the credit for feeding everybody. But really, reality shows that it is women who carry the weight to feeding humanity. And it is essential that we liberate them and provide better conditions for them to succeed..."

The complete list of winners can be found below:

Outstanding Chef

Gabrielle Hamilton, Prune, New York City

Outstanding Restaurant

Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Ala.

Outstanding Restaurateur

Caroline Styne, The Lucques Group (Lucques; a.o.c.; Tavern and others), Los Angeles

Outstanding Service

Zuni Café, San Francisco

Best New Restaurant

JuneBaby, Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program

Cure, New Orleans

Outstanding Wine Program

FIG, Charleston, S.C.

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional

Miljenko Grgich (Grgich Hills Estate, Rutherford, Calif.)

Outstanding Pastry Chef

Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Ala.

Outstanding Baker

Belinda Leong and Michel Suas: B. Patisserie, San Francisco

Rising Star Chef of the Year

Camille Cogswell (Zahav, Philadelphia)

Outstanding Restaurant Design (76 seats and over)

Firms: Aidlin Darling Design with a l m project
Designers: Joshua Aidlin, David Darling, Adam Rouse, and Andrea Lenardin Madden
Project: In Situ, San Francisco

Outstanding Restaurant Design (75 seats and under)

Firm: The MP Shift
Designers: Amy Morris, Anna Polonsky, and Julie Nerenberg
Project: De Maria, New York City

Best Chef: New York City

Missy Robbins (Lilia)

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

Gavin Kaysen (Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis)

Best Chef: West (CA, HI, NV)

Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn, San Francisco)

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX, UT)

Alex Seidel (Mercantile Dining & Provision, Denver)

Best Chef: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY)

Edouardo Jordan (Salare, Seattle)

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY State, RI, VT)

Karen Akunowicz (Myers + Chang, Boston)

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

Abraham Conlon (Fat Rice, Chicago)

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, Puerto Rico)

Nina Compton (Compère Lapin, New Orleans)

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

Rodney Scott (Rodney Scott's BBQ, Charleston)

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

Jeremiah Langhorne (The Dabney, Washington, D.C.)

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