NEW YORK — Dan Barber, a pioneer of the so-called farm-to-table restaurant movement, was named the nation’s top chef Monday by the James Beard Foundation.
Barber was lauded for using his New York restaurants — Blue Hill New York and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills — to highlight the difference that seasonal and sustainable agriculture can make on the plate.
Barber sees his cooking, which he calls American seasonal, as an effort to raise awareness about everyday food choices. At Stone Barns, which is set on a working farm, the menu is a simple list of fresh ingredients.
The James Beard awards are the Oscars of the food world and honor those who follow in the footsteps of Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985.
Michael Pollan, a vocal critic of conventional agriculture, got a similar nod from the foundation Monday. His “In Defense of Food,” an examination of the American diet and food system, won a Beard book award.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s New York restaurant Jean George was honored as the nation’s top restaurant.
David Chang, who has received numerous accolades for his Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar restaurants in New York, earned Best New Restaurant for Ko, which has been celebrated for its tasting-menu-only offerings.
The foundation’s award for rising star went to San Francisco chef Nate Appleman, whose restaurant A16 features the foods of Italy’s Campania region.
In the cookbook categories, Jennifer McLagan’s “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient,” won two awards — cookbook of the year and single-subject cookbook.
Last year’s top chef, Grant Achatz, won a book award for “Alinea,” a cookbook based on his Chicago restaurant of the same name. The book won in the professional cooking category.
The organization’s Lifetime Achievement award went to Ella Brennan, whose family has been a virtual dynasty in the New Orleans restaurant scene for decades.
Winners of the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards
The winners of the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards include:
RESTAURANTS AND CHEFS (NATIONAL)
Outstanding Restaurateur: Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group, New York
Outstanding Chef: Dan Barber, Blue Hill, New York
Outstanding Restaurant: Jean Georges, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Phil Suarez, New York
Outstanding New Restaurant: Momofuku Ko, David Chang and Peter Serpico, New York
Rising Star Chef: Nate Appleman, A16, San Francisco
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Gina DePalma, Babbo, New York
Outstanding Wine Service: Le Bernardin, Wine Director: Aldo Sohm, New York
Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Dale DeGroff, Dale DeGroff Co., New York
Outstanding Service: Daniel, Daniel Boulud, New York
CHEFS (REGIONAL)
Best Chef: Great Lakes
Michael Symon, Lola, Cleveland
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Jose Garces, Amada, Philadelphia
Best Chef: Midwest
Tim McKee, La Belle Vie, Minneapolis
Best Chef: New York
Gabriel Kreuther, The Modern, New York
Best Chef: Northeast
Rob Evans, Hugo’s, Portland, Maine
Best Chef: Northwest
Maria Hines, Tilth, Seattle
Best Chef: Southwest
Paul Bartolotta, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas
Best Chef: South
John Currence, City Grocery, Oxford, Miss.
Best Chef: Southeast
Mike Lata, Fig, Charleston, S.C.
Best Chef: Pacific
Douglas Keane, Cyrus, Healdsburg, Calif.
BOOKS
Cookbook of the Year
Jennifer McLagan, “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes”
Cookbook Hall of Fame
Jane Grigson, body of work including “The Art of Charcuterie,” “Good Things,” and “Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book”
American Cooking
Martha Hall Foose, “Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook”
Baking and Dessert
Shirley O. Corriher, “Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking”
Beverage
Steven Kolpan, Brian H. Smith, Michael A. Weiss and The Culinary Institute of America, “WineWise: Your Complete Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Enjoying Wine”
Cooking from a Professional Point of View
Grant Achatz, “Alinea”
General
Mark Bittman, “How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition)”
Healthy Focus
Ellie Krieger, “The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life”
International
Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, “Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China”
Photography
Photographer: Dominic Davies, “The Big Fat Duck Cookbook”
Reference
Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, “The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs”
Single Subject
Jennifer McLagan, “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes”
Writing and Literature
Michael Pollan, “In Defense of Food”
OTHER:
Humanitarian of the year: Feeding America
Lifetime achievement: Ella Brennan
