#james-beard-foundation

#james-beard-foundation

Many thanks to the Crenn team for such a playful celebration of high-low: mac and cheese with black truffles, cheffy hot dogs served in the kitchen, and a spin on Frito pie, but with salt and vinegar chips, egg yolk jam, smoked crème fraîche, and caviar. Pastry chef Juan Contreras set up a chocolate fountain in his pastry room in true Willy Wonka fashion, and chef Crenn was in truly exuberant form.

Each year restaurants and bars across the country are set abuzz when the James Beard Foundation announces the top chefs, restaurateurs and beverage professionals in the running for its coveted awards. The semifinalists, announced today, are the first announcement in a string of them, and Los Angeles-area restaurants and individuals racked up two dozen nods. Of these semifinalists, the nominees will be announced March 31, while the winners will be announced and awarded at a June 15 ceremony held at Chicago's Lyric Opera.

Within a few days of each other, two doughnut imports have landed in Lower Manhattan: Randy's Donuts, the 70-year-old Los Angeles brand, officially opens its first East Coast shop on 185 Bleecker Street, at MacDougal Street, in Greenwich Village, bringing more than 30 flavors divided by classic (sugar, sprinkled), deluxe (blueberry cake, chocolate long john), and fancy (coconut, bear claw).

Earlier this summer, the James Beard Foundation's Platform space at Pier 57 hosted something you don't often see in New York: Celebrity chefs Carla Hall, Andrew Zimmern, and Aarón Sánchez cooking shoulder-to-shoulder with three little-known cooks plucked from a field of nearly 92,000 applicants across the country. The event marked the live showcase of Favorite Chef, a national competition that has raised more than $12 million for the Beard Foundation since 2023.