COVER STORY, JUNE: Ziebold, Central Michel Richard and Terry Theise Win Beard Awards

June 2008 vol 7 #6

by Michael Birchenall

Last year's winner Frank Ruta of Palena presented the 2008 Mid-Atlantic Chef of the Year Award to Eric Ziebold of CityZen at the James Beard Foundation’s annual awards gala. For the second year, the event took place at Lincoln Center. During an evening when glamour was celebrated along with food and drink when the Foundation convinced Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall to co-host the event with Bobby Flay, the night was still about the best of the food world in the spirit of James Beard.

Other local winners included German and Austrian wine importer Terry Theise as the Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional and Central Michel Richard for the Best New Restaurant. Osteria from Philadelphia was a finalist.

On a night when Thomas Keller said he felt relaxed as he was not being considered for any awards (he's won most of them) it is to be noted that two graduates of his French Laundry kitchen and 2005 Food and Wine Best New Chefs alums Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Eric Ziebold both won Regional Chef awards. National Chef of the Year Grant Achatz of Chicago’s Alinea also served in the Keller kitchen early in his career.

It was also nice to see Frank Ruta up on the stage after last year's mixup when his name was dropped by accident from the announcement that he shared the Mid-Atlantic top chef award with R.J. Cooper of Vidalia. Eric gave him a generous acknowledgement and all is well again.

Ziebold won over other local chefs Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, Jose Garces of Amada in Philadelphia and Cindy Wolf of Charleston in Baltimore. Komi's Johnny Monis was nominated for rising-star chef, but lost to Gavin Kaysen of Cafe Boulud in New York.

Former City Paper writer Brett Anderson won the Newspaper Feature Writing honors for his work at the The Times-Picayune: “Landmark Decisions: A Five-Part
Series Chronicling the Ruin and Restoration of a Classic New Orleans.”

For a complete list of the awards, go to www.jamesbeard.org.