Tag Archives: Jason Franey

Eats, Restaurant

The Seattle Area’s Slew of James Beard Award Nominees, Plus a Top Newbie

herbivoracious coverThis week, the James Beard Foundation whittled down its list of nominees, announcing finalists for culinary distinction.

For cookbook awards, locals made the list in three categories. In “Baking and Dessert,” Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance are finalists for The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle. Nathan Myhrvold (whose lecture I attended a little over a year ago) and Maxime Bilet received a nomination in the “General Cooking” category for Modernist Cuisine at Home. And in “Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian,” Michael Natkin is a nominee for his Herbivoracious cookbook. (This carnivoracious food writer wants Natkin to wow him with a non-meat meal sometime!)

As for the chef and restaurant awards, the Seattle area has strong talent facing some stiff competition. Blaine Wetzel is a finalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year. I was lucky to dine at the Willows Inn earlier in his tenure there, and I was impressed—though I’ve also been impressed by others in the category, like Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food and Jimmy Bannos at the Purple Pig (where I had one of my most memorable meals in the past few years).

stowell-barcotto-640-0945Portland outscored Seattle in the “Best Chef: Northwest” category. Beast’s Naomi Pomeroy, Nostrana’s Cathy Whims, and Le Pigeon’s Gabriel Rucker are fabulous chefs, and I’ve enthusiastically sent many Seattleites to their restaurants in the Rose City. Representing Seattle is Canlis’ Jason Franey, fresh from his win at Seattle’s Cochon 555. Meanwhile, Ethan Stowell is nominated for Staple & Fancy Mercantile, though I recently caught up with him at Bar Cotto (pictured), his new Parma-style salumeria and cocktail bar in Capitol Hill.

Cookbook award winners will be announced May 3, followed by the chef and restaurant awards on May 6. The Seattle area can celebrate now, though, as Brendan McGill just won as People’s Best New Chef in the Food & Wine magazine contest. His Hitchcock restaurant on Bainbridge Island is something special. I visited recently and picked his duck breast dish as one of the best bites in Winslow, and I’ll soon have more about the amazing food at his restaurant and adjoining deli as part of a fuller story about the culinary scene just a short ferry ride away.

Food, Restaurant

Finalists Announced for 2012 James Beard Awards

Today brings an update on the James Beard Award nominations, as the large field of semifinalists got narrowed down to finalists.

With winners to be announced on May 7, Seattle can be proud that perennial candidate Tom Douglas is again in the running for Outstanding Restaurateur. But again this year, Portland outflanks our city in terms of finalists in the Best Chef Northwest category:

  • Matt Dillon, Sitka and Spruce, Seattle
  • Jason Franey, Canlis, Seattle
  • Christopher Israel, Grüner, Portland
  • Naomi Pomeroy, Beast, Portland
  • Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland

This is again a tough field. I give early odds to Franey as the favorite, though Cathy Whims could provide an upset. I’ve enjoyed her food at Nostrana, and plan to check out her new Oven & Shaker in the next few days. Look for a report on that and my volcanic hamburger at Grüner in the next few weeks.

Drinks, Eats, Food, Restaurant

Celebrity Chef Tour Offers Reasons to Be Thankful

Every year or two, the Celebrity Chef Tour rolls through Seattle. The event typically pairs a well-known chef from outside the area with a local one; for example, in 2010, Trellis‘ Brian Scheehser worked with Top Chef contestant Richard Blais. The Celebrity Chef Tour benefits the James Beard Foundation, with the local event typically held at the top of the Columbia Tower Club, where host chef James Hassell also contributes to the dinner.

This year’s guest chefs, though, were three celebrities from the Seattle restaurant scene: Jason Franey of Canlis, Thierry Rautureau of Rover’s and Luc, and Jason Wilson of Crush. An experience at any of their restaurants can be amazing. This multi-course meal with all three of them contributing was simply magical.

Franey prepared small bites for the reception, including foie gras pumpkin pie, sweet potato tapioca pudding with prawn, and a gorgeous rabbit loin with pine ash, apple, and yuzu. (Unfortunately, I was unable to capture any photos of these passed plates.)

Following Hassell’s salad course and Rautureau’s foie gras pairing (one as part of a smoked duck gizzard salad that I especially enjoyed), Wilson served a refreshing plate with geoduck, sea vegetables, sorrel, and Meyer lemon:

Next up was the duck course, in which Rautureau plated cured duck breast with flageolet puree, chanterelle mushrooms, foie gras nage, and harissa jam (and, yes, he has a bit of a foie gras fetish, which is fine by me):

Wilson followed this up with pork and fish, serving Pacific turbot and pig skins (chicharrones) with cured foie gras sauce (the fetish was contagious), red wine onion lentils, pork belly, and fennel:

The evening ended with Hassell’s dessert of caramel-poached Seckel pears (delicious!) with crispy shortbread and creme fraiche ice cream. After Chateau Ste. Michelle wine pairings throughout the meal, this course came with a full glass of Leffe beer.

As much fun as it was to sample all the wonderful food, I also enjoyed watching the chefs at work in the kitchen. While earnest in their endeavors, Franey, Rautureau, and Wilson worked as a team in a fun and playful manner in getting each of the courses out to the dining room. Observing them made me appreciative of all the culinary talent we have in our area, and thankful for any opportunity I have to sample the spectacular food all these chefs create day to day.