The winners of this year’s potentially career-boosting accolade highlight the global pantry of American cuisine
Food & Wine magazine on Tuesday named this year’s class of “Best New Chefs,” an award that has helped boost the careers of many chefs since it was established in 1988.
Normally awarded to chefs at 10 restaurants, this year the honorees are 13 chefs from nine restaurants.
They are:
Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat of Holy Basil in Los Angeles
Camari Mick and Mary Attea of The Musket Room & Raf’s in New York City
Erika Council of Bomb Biscuit Co. in Atlanta
Leina Horii and Brian Lea of Kisser in Nashville
Silver Iocovozzi of Neng Jr.’s in Asheville, N.C.
Nicole Cabrera Mills of Pêche in New Orleans
Lawrence “L.T.” Smith of Chilte in Phoenix
Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel in St. Paul, Minn., and
Jonny White, Jalen Heard, and Lane Milne of Goldee’s in Fort Worth, Texas
More information about the winners can be found in a special digital issue of Food & Wine focused on the chefs.
Winners of the award must have been running a kitchen or pastry program for five years or fewer. They are selected in a months-long process in which Food & Wine solicits recommendations from past winners, food writers, cookbook authors and other experts who are then vetted by the editorial team in a process now led by its new restaurant editor, Raphael Brion. That process includes dining at hundreds of restaurants across the country.
"For this class of Best New Chefs, ‘fusion’ is something to celebrate, borders are imaginary constructs, and the world is a delicious pantry to pull from,” Brion said in a statement. “Like at Raf’s in New York City, where Mary Attea and Camari Mick blend the cuisines of France and Italy in a billowing, rustic delight. Or at Chilte in Phoenix, where Lawrence ‘L.T.’ Smith’s playful ‘new-wave’ Mexican-inspired menu fearlessly hopscotches the planet. These chefs are redefining fusion, blending their roots into bold, genre-bending creations, continuing the legacy of Food & Wine Best New Chefs since 1988."
Past winners have included people who went on to become restaurant-world luminaries, including Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, David Bouley, David Chang, Nina Compton, Thomas Keller, Barbara Lynch, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Missy Robbins.
Food & Wine also is launching an initiative to help the winners grow personally and professionally. The Best New Chef Mentorship Program is sponsored by outdoor gear company Yeti.
“Giving out an accolade is not enough; we want to support their personal and professional growth for years to come and connect them to a network of hospitality veterans,” Food & Wine editor-in-chief Hunter Lewis said in a statement.
That program will be launched Tuesday night at a celebration honoring the chefs at Le Pavillon in New York City.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
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