Next's Dave Beran Named A 2014 'Food & Wine' Best New Chef
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Apr 1, 2014 7:10PM
April is here and that means it’s time for Food & Wine magazine to announce its annual Best New Chefs list. A Chicago chef usually receives recognition by F&W editor Dana Cowin and her staff (Nightwood's Jason Vincent earned a nod last year) and this year Next's Dave Beran made the cut.
Beran has steered the course for the ever-changing menus at Next since it opened three years ago and tickets to dine there are as sought after as Wonka golden tickets, although the pace seems to have slowed recently. But the proof, as the cliche goes, is in the pudding and Beran and his staff have proven to be exceptional across myriad themes and culinary styles. To qualify for F&W Best New Chef consideration a chef has to be at his or her current post for at least three years. Otherwise, Beran could have made the list sooner with his talents.
Cowin made a nod to social media when the list was announced with a series of Instagram selfies with Beran and the other "Best New Chef" awardees.