James Beard Open Nominations
Joshua Galliano, Executive Chef at An American Place restaurant, posted a call to the St. Louis dining public over on Eat@Joe’s that we all go out and register for the James Beard Awards nominations so we can “stuff the open nominations with St. Louis restaurants as a way to push St. Louis into the national spotlight and entice judges/critics to visit our city.”
I agree it’s a good idea, and while I’m not a huge fan of everything they do, The James Beard Foundation has a certain cache with the dining public that is never a bad thing, and they do award the deserving.
So do like he (and I) did and go nominate Gerard Craft or anything else you might find worthy in our city. It definitely can’t hurt.
Joshua’s post in full:
Open nominations have begun for the 2008 James Beard Awards. The open nomination process allows restaurateurs, chefs, the food loving public, and anyone else to nominate their favorite restaurant/chef. When open nominations close, a long list of nominees is formulated in order for James Beard judges to vote for their favorites. From there, a short list of the nominated chefs/restaurants is created, which ends with the awards ceremony in May.
The open nominations are a great way to promote St. Louis restaurants because in the past, the city and the area has been overshadowed by Chicago. The competition for all divisions is stiff, but there is one category where a critical mass of nominations could help to promote St. Louis. Please take a moment and register to vote on the James Beard Organization website at the following url:
http://www.jamesbeard.org/awards/forms/index.shtml
When voting for your favorite restaurant, there is also the chance to nominate a second restaurant. I recommend that we stuff the open nominations with St. Louis restaurants as a way to push St. Louis into the national spotlight and entice judges/critics to visit our city. More judges, more chances for local restaurants to win a nomination or award.
The division where a St. Louis restaurant stands the best chance is for Rising Chef. In order to qualify for the Rising Chef award, the chef must be under 30 and must have worked as an executive chef for at least 2 years. Gerard Craft at Niche not only fits those requirements, but the soul and love that he puts into his food more than qualifies him to be recognized nationally. Please take a moment, register, and vote for some St. Louis restaurants.
4 Responses to “James Beard Open Nominations”
Righteous! Thanks for the reminder.
By Sara White on Nov 16, 2007
I’d like to hold out my nomination of Gerard until he sends me his bread pudding recipe, but I won’t be petty. The food’s too good.
By Dan D. on Nov 16, 2007
I never received an email from you. My new email is gcraft@nichestlouis.com. You can ask anyone I know, especially my dad, and they will tell you that my recent email experience has been a horrible one. Everything seems to be working fine now. My email server is in Canada so that should explain a lot. Sorry for the inconvenience.
By Gerard Craft on Dec 6, 2007