Lamb croquettes prepared by Elise Wiggins, executive chef at Panzano in Denver, were honored by the James Beard Foundation. (Photo by Philip Gross for JBF)
The folks at the James Beard Foundation have honored Denver’s own Elise Wiggins, executive chef at in the Hotel Monaco, for creating one of their favorite dishes of 2014.
The dish: Wiggins’ braised lamb croquettes, which she served earlier this year when she was invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York. That in itself was quite an honor. The foundation administers the JBF awards, which are often called the Oscars of the culinary world.
Her savory one-bite croquette was paired with sweet pea-fennel puree, red vein sorrel and a cinnamon-cherry foie gras truffle.
Raved JBF assistant editor Maggie Borden in her write-up: “The dish was all about balance: the rustic comfort of braised lamb shank tucked within a refined tuile, the crunchy package collapsing around the tender, slow-cooked meat.” Wiggins sources her lamb from Triple M Bar Ranch.
Wiggins is in good company. Among the honorees — you can — were Elena North-Kelly at Tar & Roses in Santa Monica, Calif. (pork chicharrones with fig, pearl onions and pomegranate molasses) and Josh Keller at Two Boroughs Larder in Charleston, SC, (beef tartare with celery, benne, smoked goat’s curd and pancakes.)
This isn’t the first honor of the year for Wiggins. In July she got a shout-out from Yahoo Food for .
Speaking of year-end honors, I’ve compiled a list of the best Front Range restaurant dishes I ate as a reviewer in 2014. The online version will go up on on Dec. 22, with the print version following on the Post’s Food cover on Dec. 24.
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