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Red Carpet Photos And Winners From The 2015 James Beard Awards

By Melissa McEwen in Food on May 5, 2015 3:35PM

At the first James Beard Awards ever held in Chicago at the Lyric Opera last night, the home team took home plenty of awards.

One Off Hospitality group (The Violet Hour, Publican, Blackbird, Nico, etc.) led the pack, with Donnie Madia winning Outstanding Restaurateur. And The Violet Hour took home the award for Outstanding Bar Program, for which they've received a nomination every year since the category was created in 2012.

Surprisingly, Chicago did not take the Best Chef, Great Lakes category, even though four of the five of the finalists were Chicagoans. Jonathon Sawyer of Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland, Ohio beat out Curtis Duffy of Grace, Paul Virant of Vie, Erling Wu-Bower of Nico Osteria and Andrew Zimmerman of Sepia to win the award.

Richard Melman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises took home a Lifetime Achievement Award and architects Tom Nahabedian and James Gorski were won a Outstanding Restaurant Design award for Brindille.

The celebratory mood at the awards ceremony was dampened when attendees learned that celebrated food writer and Grub Street Founder, who had come to town for the awards, Josh Ozersky, had been found dead Monday morning at the Conrad Chicago Hotel.

Here is a full list of the winners last night:

Best New Restaurant, Presented by True Refrigeration®
Bâtard, NYC


Outstanding Baker
Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, NYC


Outstanding Bar Program, Presented by Tanqueray No. TEN®
The Violet Hour, Chicago


Outstanding Chef, Presented by All-Clad Metalcrafters
Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern, NYC


Outstanding Pastry Chef
Christina Tosi, Momofuku, NYC


Outstanding Restaurant, Presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY


Outstanding RestaurateurDonnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group, Chicago (Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, and others)


Outstanding Service, Presented by Goose Island Beer Company
The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN


Outstanding Wine Program
A16, San Francisco


Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional, Presented by BACARDÍ® GRAN RESERVA
Rajat Parr, Mina Group, San Francisco


Rising Star Chef of the Year, Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
Jessica Largey, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA


Best Chef: Great Lakes
Jonathon Sawyer, The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland


Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore


Best Chef: Midwest
Gerard Craft, Niche, Clayton, MO


Best Chef: Northeast
Barry Maiden, Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA


Best Chef: Northwest
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Lummi Island, WA


Best Chef: NYC
Mark Ladner, Del Posto


Best Chef: South
Alon Shaya, Domenica, New Orleans


Best Chef: Southeast
Jason Stanhope, FIG, Charleston, SC


Best Chef: Southwest
Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue, Austin


Best Chef: West
Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco


2015 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards


75 Seats and Under (For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since January 1, 2012)
Design Firm: Bureau of Architecture and Design
Designers: James Gorski and Tom Nahabedian
Project: Brindille, Chicago


76 Seats and Over (For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since January 1, 2012)
Design Firm: SOMA
Designers: Michel Abboud
Project: Workshop Kitchen + Bar, Palm Springs, CA


2015 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics, Presented by Brand USA
Archie’s Waeside, Le Mars, IA
Owner: Robert Rand

Beaumont Inn, Harrodsburg, KY
Owners: Elizabeth and Dixon Dedman, Helen and
Chuck Dedman

Guelaguetza, Los Angeles
Owners: The Lopez Family

Sally Bell’s Kitchen, Richmond, VA
Owners: Martha Crowe Jones and Scott Jones

Sevilla Restaurant, NYC
Owners: Jose Lloves and Bienvenido Alvarez

2015 James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America
Allan Benton
Pork Producer and Purveyor
Madisonville, TN

Dale DeGroff
Mixologist
NYC

Wylie Dufresne
Chef and Restaurateur
NYC

Nathalie Dupree
Cookbook Author and Television Personality
Charleston, SC

Maricel Presilla
Chef, Restaurateur, and Cookbook Author
Hoboken, NJ

2015 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year
Michel Nischan
CEO, President and Co-Founder of Wholesome Wave
Westport, CT


2015 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Richard Melman
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Chicago