Grieveson, Alinea Win Beard Awards

By Chuck Sudo in Food on May 4, 2010 3:40PM

Avec's Koren Grieveson with Padma Lakshmi, from Season 4 of "Top chef." Photo courtesy of Bravo.

If the media half of the James Beard Awards are the equivalent of the untelevised Oscars for technical achievement, last night's awards for the chefs and restaurants provided the star power.

The big winner locally was Avec's Koren Grieveson, who won "Best Chef: Great Lakes" from a local Murderer's Row that included Schwa's Michael Carlson, Arun Sampanthavivat of Arun's and North Pond's Bruce Sherman. Avec, as Paul Kahan explained to me last summer, is essentially Grieveson's to run and the food produced in her kitchen is among the best in the city. Kahan sounded like a proud but humble father on his twitter feed last night, writing "First time ever that someone wearing a (James Beard) medal said I was their mentor. Feels pretty great."

Meanwhile, Alinea added to its list of Beard Awards with a win for Outstanding Restaurant Service. Anyone who's ever witnessed Alinea's tightly choreographed dinner service can attest that this was a team that deserved the award.

Grub Street has the full list of last night's winners.