The 16th annual James Beard award ceremony had a few surprises, a little romance, and a lot of contemporary and traditional New Orleans cooking. Hosted by New Orleans native and ABC news political journalist Cokie Roberts and held at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel ballroom in Times Square, the extravagant affair lasted over 4 hours.
A portion of the event’s admission price was to be donated to the Gulf Coast Renaissance Fund, which was set up to help rebuild New Orleans’ restaurant community from the effects of hurricane Katrina.
It was a particularly good night for New York’s restaurant community, as many Manhattan restaurateurs and chefs came away with coveted awards, including Daniel Boulud (Outstanding Restaurateur), The Modern (Best New Restaurant), Alfred Portale (Outstanding Chef), Daniel Johnnes (Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional), and Johnny Iuzinni (Outstanding Pastry Chef).
Thomas Keller’s French Laundry also cleaned up, winning the prestigious “Outstanding Restaurant” award, and the “Rising Star Chef” which was awarded to his own Corey Lee.
In the midst of saying goodbye to the 1600 people in attendance after fifteen years of putting together the Beard awards show, publicist Melanie Young suddenly found herself standing next to her boyfriend David Ransom. He was on stage unexpectedly, smiling smugly and holding a dozen roses, a small jewelry box, and a question. David’s marriage proposal shocked Ms. Young and everyone in the ballroom theatre, including Ms. Young’s mother, who knew nothing about the impending proposal. Thankfully, she said yes.
There were five new inductees into the “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage,” including New York City’s own Café Gray owner Gray Kunz. Judith Jones, who for half a decade has been an influential editor both within and outside of the culinary world, was the recipient of the 2006 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award.
A total of 70 award recipients were named in 2006, a complete listing of which can be found on www.NYRestaurantInsider.com, along with additional photographs of the presenters and the award winners.
Here are the winners of the restaurant, chef, and restaurant design awards for 2006.
Restaurant and Chef awards
BEST CHEF: CALIFORNIA Suzanne Goin Lucques West Hollywood, CA
BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC Fabio Trabocchi Maestro at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner McLean, VA
BEST CHEF: MIDWEST Shawn McClain Spring Chicago
BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY Dan Barber Blue Hill NYC
BEST CHEF: NORTHEAST Jean-Louis Gerin Jean-Louis Greenwich, CT
BEST CHEF: NORTHWEST/HAWAII Scott Carsberg Lamperia Seattle
BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST John Besh Restaurant August New Orleans
BEST CHEF: SOUTHWEST Bradford Thompson Mary Elaines at The Phoenician Scottsdale, AZ
BEST NEW RESTAURANT Danny Meyer The Modern Gabriel Kreuther NYC
OUTSTANDING CHEF Alfred Portale Gotham Bar & Grill NYC
OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF Johnny Iuzzini Jean Georges NYC
OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT Thomas Keller The French Laundry Yountville, CA
OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR Daniel Boulud The Dinex Group NYC
OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD Gary Danko Gary Danko San Francisco
OUTSTANDING WINE AND SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL Daniel Johnnes Dinex Group NYC
OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE William Sherer Aureole, Las Vegas Las Vegas
RISING STAR CHEF Corey Lee The French Laundry Yountville, CA
Restaurant Design & Graphics Awards
OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT DESIGN Designer: Carol Bentel, Paul Bentel, Peter Bentel, Susan Nagle Design Firm: Bentel & Bentel Architects/Planners LLP NYC Project: The Modern
OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT GRAPHICS Designer: Matteo Bologna and Andrea Brown Design Firm: Mucca Design Corporation NYC Project: Sant Ambroeus
LIST OF ALL WINNERS
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