AWARDS SEASON | JAMES BEARD AWARDS

This morning the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists for the James Beard Awards® presented by Capital One were shared! This does not include the other categories which will be announced over the next few months! Nominees will be announced on Wednesday, March 29, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

The James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards—established in 1990 and first awarded in 1991—are one of five separate recognition programs of the Awards. The 2023 Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists are recognized across 23 categories, including the new Award for Outstanding Bakery. James Beard Awards policies and procedures can be viewed here.

We love that a number of people that we have included or features in Athleisure Mag are included and we congratulate them as well as those that we have yet to have on this phenomenal honor! As the other categories are shared, we will include these as well up until the big night!

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Mohamed Ali Alkassar and Niven Patel, Alpareno Restaurant Group (Ghee Indian Kitchen, Orno, and Mamey), Miami, FL 

• Brandon Chrostowski, EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute (EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, edwins too, EDWINS Bakery, and others), Cleveland, OH 

• Krista Cole, Sur Lie and Gather Restaurant, Portland, ME 

• Greg Dulan, Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen, Dulan's on Crenshaw, and Dulanville, Los Angeles, CA  

• Laile Fairbairn, Locally Grown Restaurants (Snow City Cafe, South Restaurant + Coffeehouse, and Spenard Roadhouse), Anchorage, AK 

• Sims and Kirsten Harlow Foster, Foster Supply Hospitality (The DeBruce, Arnold House Tavern, and Kenoza Hall), NY 

• Aaron Hoskins, Sarah Simmons, Nicole Storey, and Elie Yigo, City Grit Hospitality Group (SmallSUGAR, CITY GRIT, and Il Focolare Pizzeria), Columbia, SC 

• Yuka Ioroi and Kris Toliao, Cassava, San Francisco, CA 

• Michael and Tara Gallina and Aaron Martinez, Take Root Hospitality (Vicia, Winslow's Table, Bistro La Floraison, and others), St. Louis, MO 

• Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore, and Emanuel Reed, Slim & Husky's Pizza Beeria, Nashville, TN 

• Johnna Hayes and Debra Zinke, 3 Sirens Restaurant Group (Bird & Bottle, Holé Molé, Shakey Jakes, and others), Tulsa, OK 

• Amy and Jason Kerstein, Joe Muench, and Dan Snider, Black Shoe Hospitality (Story Hill BKC and Buttermint Finer Dining & Cocktails), Milwaukee, WI 

• Sandy Levine, Freya, Chartreuse, and The Oakland, Detroit, MI 

• Albert McDonald, The Mint, Pizza Campania, and Backcountry Burger Bar, Bozeman, MT 

• Yenvy and Quynh Pham, Phở Bắc Sup Shop, Phởcific Standard Time, and The Boat, Seattle, WA 

• Michael Reginbogin and Jason Berry, KNEAD Hospitality + Design (MI VIDA, Lil’ SUCCOTASH, and GATSBY), Washington, D.C. 

• Jimmy and Johnny Tung, Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi, Doshi, and Camille, Orlando, FL 

• Kelly Whitaker, Id Est Hospitality Group (Basta, The Wolf's Tailor, and BRUTØ), Boulder, CO 

• Chris Williams, Lucille's Hospitality Group, Houston, TX 

• Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street Philly, and others), Philadelphia, PA 

Outstanding Chef

• Junior Borges, Meridian, Dallas, TX  

• Nina Compton, Compère Lapin, New Orleans, LA 

• Greg Collier, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC 

• Renee Erickson, The Walrus and the Carpenter, Seattle, WA 

• Shigeru Fukuyoshi, Sagami, Collingswood, NJ 

• Christine Ha and Tony J. Nguyen, Xin Chào, Houston, TX 

• Andrew Le, The Pig and the Lady, Honolulu, HI 

• Johnny Leach, The Town Company, Kansas City, MO 

• Rachel Miller, Nightshade Noodle Bar, Lynn, MA 

• Eder Montero and Alex Raij, La Vara, Brooklyn, NY 

• David Nayfeld, Che Fico, San Francisco, CA 

• Niki Nakayama, n/naka, Los Angeles, CA 

• Josh Niernberg, Bin 707 Foodbar, Grand Junction, CO 

• Erik Ramirez, Llama Inn, Brooklyn, NY 

• Dana Rodriguez, Super Mega Bien, Denver, CO 

• Rob Rubba, Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C. 

• Silvana Salcido Esparza, Barrio Café, Phoenix, AZ 

• Hajime Sato, Sozai, Clawson, MI 

• Michael Schwartz, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, Miami, FL 

• David Vargas, Vida Cantina, Portsmouth, NH 

Outstanding Restaurant Presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water

• Ariete, Miami, FL 

• Brennan's, New Orleans, LA 

• Cassia, Santa Monica, CA 

• La Condesa, Austin, TX 

• Copine, Seattle, WA 

• Cora Cora, West Hartford, CT 

• Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA 

• The Grey, Savannah, GA 

• Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm, Boulder, UT 

• Lucia, Dallas, TX 

• Mita's, Cincinnati, OH 

• Mourad, San Francisco, CA 

• PAGU, Cambridge, MA 

• Proper Meats + Provisions, Flagstaff, AZ 

• RIS, Washington, D.C. 

• Red Rose Restaurant, Lowell, MA 

• Smyth, Chicago, IL 

• Veselka, New York, NY 

• Via Carota, New York, NY 

• Wickman House, Ellison Bay, WI 

Emerging Chef Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water

• Kane Adkisson, kanō, Omaha, NE 

• Bernard Bennett, Ọkàn, Bluffton, SC 

• Damarr Brown, Virtue, Chicago, IL 

• Victoria Elizondo, Cochinita & Co., Houston, TX 

• Julio Hernandez, Maiz de la Vida, Nashville, TN  

• Jamie Hoang, Ahan, Madison, WI  

• Rashida Holmes, Bridgetown Roti, Los Angeles, CA 

• Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin, Best Quality Daughter, San Antonio, TX 

• Telly Justice, HAGS, New York, NY 

• Vinh Le, Cicada Coffee Bar, Cambridge, MA 

• Amado Lopez, Casa Amado Taqueria, Berkley, MI 

• Christian Lowe, Shift Kitchen & Bar, Flagstaff, AZ 

• Serigne Mbaye, Dakar NOLA, New Orleans, LA 

• Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, Cafe Ohlone, Berkeley, CA  

• Charlie Mitchell, Clover Hill, New York, NY 

• Bo Porytko, Misfit SnackBar, Denver, CO  

• Amanda Shulman, Her Place Supper Club, Philadelphia, PA 

• Kevin Smith, Beast & Cleaver, Seattle, WA 

• Elias Taddesse, Mélange, Washington, D.C. 

• Akino West, Rosie's, Miami, FL 

Best New Restaurant

• Al Coro, New York, NY 

• The Backporch, Roundup, MT 

• Bar Spero, Washington, D.C. 

• Birch & Rye, San Francisco, CA 

• Causa, Washington, D.C. 

• Dept of Culture, New York, NY 

• Don Artemio, Fort Worth, TX 

• Et Al., Tulsa, OK 

• The Friar's Fork, Alamosa, CO 

• Heavy Metal Sausage Co., Philadelphia, PA 

• Heff's Burger Club, Winston-Salem, NC 

• Kann, Portland, OR 

• Khmai Cambodian Fine Dining, Chicago, IL 

• KRU, Brooklyn, NY 

• La Royal, Cambridge, MA 

• Lupi & Iris, Milwaukee, WI 

• Nami Kaze, Honolulu, HI 

• Neng Jr.'s, Asheville, NC 

• Nolia, Cincinnati, OH 

• Obélix, Chicago, IL 

• ōkta, McMinnville, OR 

• Pijja Palace, Los Angeles, CA 

• Pizza Grace, Birmingham, AL 

• Restaurant Beatrice, Dallas, TX 

• Sambou's African Kitchen, Jackson, MS 

• Stissing House, Pine Plains, NY 

• Tatemó, Houston, TX 

• Tatsu, Dallas, TX 

• Yangban Society, Los Angeles, CA 

• wolfpeach, Camden, ME 

Outstanding Bakery

• Angelo Brocato, New Orleans, LA 

• Breadshop, Honolulu, HI 

• Buena Gente Cuban Bakery, Decatur, GA 

• La Casita Bakeshop, Richardson, TX 

• Denise's Delicacies, Philadelphia, PA 

• Friends & Family, Los Angeles, CA 

• Fujiya Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI 

• Good Cakes and Bakes, Detroit, MI 

• Grist Milling & Bakery, Missoula, MT 

• Haymaker Bun Company, Middlebury, VT 

• JL Patisserie, Phoenix and Scottsdale, AZ 

• Kuluntu Bakery, Dallas, TX 

• La Patisserie Chouquette, St. Louis, MO 

• Mighty Bread Co., Philadelphia, PA 

• Normal Ice Cream, Salt Lake City, UT 

• She Wolf Bakery, New York, NY 

• Unforgettable Bakery & Cafe, Savannah, GA 

• Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop, San Francisco, CA 

• Yoli Tortilleria, Kansas City, MO 

• Zak the Baker, Miami, FL 

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

• Veronika Baukema, Veronika's Pastry Shop, Billings, MT 

• Manuel and Jesús Brazón, Caracas Bakery, Doral, FL 

• Vince Bugtong, Viridian, Oakland, CA 

• Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panadería, Austin, TX 

• Ismael de Sousa, Reunion Bread Co, Denver, CO 

• Nora Faye Allen, Mel the Bakery, New York, NY 

• Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery, Portland, ME 

• Andrew Hutchison, Madison Sourdough, Madison, WI 

• Michelle Karr-Ueoka, MW Restaurant, Honolulu, HI 

• Crystal Kass, Valentine, Phoenix, AZ 

• Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles, CA 

• Noelle Marchetti, Yolan, Nashville, TN 

• Shawn McKenzie, Café Cerés, Minneapolis, MN 

• Camari Mick, The Musket Room, New York, NY 

• Anne Ng, Bakery Lorraine, San Antonio, TX 

• Kareem Queeman, Mr. Bake, Riverdale, MD 

• Emily Riddell, Machine Shop, Philadelphia, PA 

• Phillip Ashley Rix, Phillip Ashley Chocolates, Memphis, TN 

• Elaine Uykimpang Bentz, Café Mochiko, Cincinnati, OH 

• Amanda Wildermuth, Honey Road, Burlington, VT 

Outstanding Hospitality Presented by American Airlines

• The Black Cypress, Pullman, WA 

• Bottega, Birmingham, AL 

• Charleston, Baltimore, MD 

• Here's Looking at You, Los Angeles, CA 

• House of Prime Rib, San Francisco, CA 

• Lark, Seattle, WA 

• Lil' Deb's Oasis, Hudson, NY 

• The Local, Abilene, TX 

• Lula Drake, Columbia, SC 

• Manoli's, Salt Lake City, UT 

• Melba's, New York, NY 

• Pêche., Palisade, CO 

• The Quarry, Monson, ME 

• The Restaurant at 1900, Mission Woods, KS 

• Sepia, Chicago, IL 

• SMOKE. Woodfire Grill, Tulsa, OK 

• Sur Lie, Portland, ME 

• Theodore Rex, Houston, TX 

• Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta, GA 

• Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia, PA 

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

• All Together Now, Chicago, IL 

• Commander's Palace, New Orleans, LA 

• COTE, New York, NY 

• Flight Wine Bar, Washington, D.C. 

• Foam Brewers, Burlington, VT 

• FRIDA Southwest, Oklahoma City, OK 

• Glai Baan, Phoenix, AZ 

• Hiyu Wine Farm, Hood River, OR 

• Lazy Bear, San Francisco, CA 

• Lyla Lila, Atlanta, GA 

• Macchialina, Miami Beach, FL 

• Monk's Cafe, Philadelphia, PA 

• Nancy's Hustle, Houston, TX 

• OK Omens, Portland, OR 

• OTOTO, Los Angeles, CA 

• Rebel Rebel, Somerville, MA 

• Spencer, Ann Arbor, MI 

• Suerte, Austin, TX 

• Sunday Vinyl, Denver, CO 

• Waxlight Bar à Vin, Buffalo, NY 

Outstanding Bar

• Allegory, Washington, D.C. 

• American Solera, Tulsa, OK 

• Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu, HI 

• Cafe La Trova, Miami, FL 

• Dante, New York, NY 

• Drastic Measures, Shawnee, KS 

• Esters Wine Shop & Bar, Santa Monica, CA 

• Garagiste, Las Vegas, NV 

• The Gin Room, St. Louis, MO 

• Harlem Hops, New York, NY 

• The Jewel Box, Portland, ME 

• Kingfisher, Durham, NC 

• Las Ramblas, Brownsville, TX 

• Le Caveau, Philadelphia, PA 

• Post Office Place, Salt Lake City, UT 

• Rob Roy, Seattle, WA 

• Salud Cerveceria, Charlotte, NC 

• Scratch Brewing Company, Ava, IL 

• Trick Dog, San Francisco, CA 

• Weathered Souls Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX 

Best Chefs Presented by Capital One (by region)

Best Chef: California

• Jonathan Bautista, Kingfisher, San Diego, CA 

• Rocio Camacho, Rocio's Mexican Kitchen, Bell Gardens, CA 

• Val M. Cantu, Californios, San Francisco, CA 

• Gilberto Cetina Jr., Holbox, Los Angeles, CA 

• Kyle and Katina Connaughton, SingleThread, Healdsburg, CA 

• Brandon Hayato Go, Hayato, Los Angeles, CA 

• Srijith Gopinathan, Ettan, Palo Alto, CA 

• Matthew Kammerer, The Harbor House Inn, Elk, CA 

• Intu-on Kornnawong, Jo's Modern Thai, Oakland, CA 

• Andrew and Michelle Muñoz, Moo's Craft Barbecue, Los Angeles, CA 

• Justin Pichetrungsi, Anajak Thai, Sherman Oaks, CA 

• Michael Reed, Poppy & Seed, Anaheim, CA 

• Daisy Ryan, Bell's, Los Alamos, CA 

• Carlos Salgado, Taco María, Costa Mesa, CA 

• Sarintip “Jazz” Singsanong, Jitlada, Los Angeles, CA 

• James Syhabout, Commis, Oakland, CA 

• Craig Takehara, Binchoyaki, Sacramento, CA 

• Pim Techamuanvivit, Kin Khao, San Francisco, CA 

• Robbie Wilson, Le Fantastique, San Francisco, CA 

• Akira Yoshizumi, Sushi Yoshizumi, San Mateo, CA 

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• Francisco Alfaro, Mid-City Restaurant, Cincinnati, OH  

• Omar Anani, Saffron De Twah, Detroit, MI 

• Abra Berens, Granor Farm, Three Oaks, MI 

• Becky Clark, Little Fish Brewing Co., Athens, OH 

• Diana Dávila Boldin, Mi Tocaya Antojería, Chicago, IL 

• Thai Dang, HaiSous, Chicago, IL 

• Paul Fehribach, Big Jones, Chicago, IL 

• Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, Kasama, Chicago, IL 

• Norberto Garita, El Barzon, Detroit, MI 

• Hideki and Yuko Harada, Kiki, Cincinnati, OH 

• Andy Hollyday, Selden Standard, Detroit, MI 

• Ji Hye Kim, Miss Kim, Ann Arbor, MI 

• Allie La Valle-Umansky, Jeremy Umansky, and Kenny Scott, Larder Delicatessen & Bakery, Cleveland, OH 

• BJ Lieberman, Chapman's Eat Market, Columbus, OH 

• Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere, Baobab Fare, Detroit, MI 

• Abbi Merriss, Bluebeard, Indianapolis, IN 

• Zubair Mohajir, Wazwan, Chicago, IL 

• Samir Mohammad, 9th Street Bistro, Noblesville, IN 

• Michael Ransom, Ima Izakaya, Detroit, MI 

• Sarah Welch, Marrow, Detroit, MI 

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Chris Amendola, foraged., Baltimore, MD 

• Steve Chu, Ekiben, Baltimore, MD 

• Joy Crump, FOODE, Fredericksburg, VA 

• David Deshaies, L'Ardente, Washington, D.C. 

• Nik Forsberg, Fet-Fisk, Pittsburgh, PA 

• Rahman "Rock" Harper, Queen Mother's Fried Chicken, Arlington, VA 

• Andrew Henshaw, Laser Wolf, Philadelphia, PA 

• Jesse Ito, Royal ushi, Philadelphia, PA 

• Dionicio Jiménez, Cantina La Martina, Philadelphia, PA 

• Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, Apteka, Pittsburgh, PA 

• Enrique Limardo, Seven Reasons, Washington, D.C. 

• Philip Manganaro, Park Place Café & Restaurant, Merchantville, NJ 

• Melissa McGrath, Sweet Amalia Market & Kitchen, Newfield, NJ 

• Thanh Nguyen, Gabriella's Vietnam, Philadelphia, PA 

• Peter Prime, Bammy's, Washington, D.C. 

• Michael Rafidi, Albi, Washington, D.C. 

• Ryan Ratino, Bresca, Washington, D.C.  

• Omar Rodriguez, Oyamel Cocina Mexicana, Washington, D.C. 

• Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Kalaya, Philadelphia, PA 

• Kevin Tien, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C. 

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

• Sanaa Abourezk, Sanaa's Gourmet Mediterranean, Sioux Falls, SD 

• Ann Ahmed, Khâluna, Minneapolis, MN 

• Nick Bognar, iNDO, St. Louis, MO 

• Samuel Charles, Rodina, Cedar Rapids, IA 

• Rob Connoley, Bulrush, St. Louis, MO 

• Michael Corvino, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room, Kansas City, MO 

• Nick Goellner, The Antler Room, Kansas City, MO 

• Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite, EsterEv, Milwaukee, WI  

• Gregory León, Amilinda, Milwaukee, WI 

• Pam Liberda, Waldo Thai, Kansas City, MO 

• Francesco Mangano, Osteria Papavero, Madison, WI 

• Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger, Fairchild, Madison, WI 

• Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box, Webster Groves, MO 

• Christina Nguyen, Hai Hai, Minneapolis, MN 

• Joseph Raney, Skogen Kitchen, Custer, SD 

• Karyn Tomlinson, Myriel, Saint Paul, MN 

• Paul and Jessica Urban, Block 16, Omaha, NE 

• David Utterback, Yoshitomo, Omaha, NE 

• Adam VanDonge, The White Linen, Topeka, KS 

• Yia Vang, Union Hmong Kitchen, Minneapolis, MN 

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)

• Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, ID 

• Michael Annandono, Michaelangelo's Big Sky, Big Sky, MT 

• Dan Ansotegui, Ansots, Boise, ID 

• Jose Avila, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal, Denver, CO 

• Andy Blanton, Cafe Kandahar, Whitefish, MT 

• Paul Chamberlain and Logen Crew, SLC Eatery, Salt Lake City, UT 

• Michael Diaz de Leon, BRUTØ, Denver, CO 

• C. Barclay Dodge, Bosq, Aspen, CO 

• Andrew Fuller, Oquirrh, Salt Lake City, UT 

• Briar Handly, Handle, Park City, UT 

• Suchada Johnson, Teton Thai, Teton Village, WY 

• Young-Ho Kang and Peter Kim, The Angry Korean, South Jordan, UT 

• Kris Komori, KIN, Boise, ID 

• Chris Lockhart and Danny Mowatt, PREROGATIvE Kitchen, Red Lodge, MT 

• Kibrom Milash, Kibrom's Ethiopian & Eritrean Food, Boise, ID 

• Paul Naugle, Izakaya Three Fish, Bozeman, MT 

• Cindhura Reddy, Spuntino, Denver, CO 

• Earl James Reynolds, Stone Hill Kitchen + Bar, Bigfork, MT 

• Ali Sabbah, Mazza, Salt Lake City, UT 

• Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver, CO 

Best Chef: New York State

• Gerardo Alcaraz, Aldama, Brooklyn, NY 

• Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh, Brooklyn, NY 

• Mary Attea, The Musket Room, New York, NY 

• Giovanni Cervantes, Taqueria Ramírez, Brooklyn, NY 

• Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy, New York, NY 

• Calvin Eng, Bonnie's, Brooklyn, NY 

• Shenarri Freeman, Cadence, New York, NY 

• Charles Gabriel, Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, New York, NY  

• Anthony Gonçalves, Kanopi, White Plains, NY 

• Sol Han, LittleMad, New York, NY 

• JJ Johnson, FIELDTRIP, New York, NY 

• Sohui Kim, Gage & Tollner, Brooklyn, NY 

• Shaina Loew-Banayan, Cafe Mutton, Hudson, NY  

• Paolo Garcia Mendoza, Karenderya, Nyack, NY 

• Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shukette, New York, NY 

• Junghyun Park, Atomix, New York, NY 

• Franco Sampogna, Frevo, New York, NY 

• Eric See, Ursula, Brooklyn, NY 

• Hillary Sterling, Ci Siamo, New York, NY 

• Sohail Zandi, Brushland Eating House, Bovina, NY 

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

• Robert Andreozzi, Pizza Marvin, Providence, RI 

• Paul Callahan, Vino e Vivo, Exeter, NH 

• Jeff Fournier, Thompson House Eatery, Jackson, NH 

• Mojo Hancy-Davis, May Day, Burlington, VT 

• Valentine Howell, Krasi, Boston, MA  

• Christian Hunter, Community Table, Washington, CT 

• Sara Jenkins, Nina June, Rockport, ME 

• Jason LaVerdiere, Flux, Lisbon Falls, ME  

• Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food & Beverage, Portland, ME  

• Alganesh Michael, A Taste of Abyssinia, South Burlington, VT 

• Yahya Noor, Tawakal Halal Cafe, Boston, MA  

• Tony Pastor, Fore Street, Portland, ME  

• Isaul Perez, Isa, Portland, ME 

• Sherry Pocknett, Sly Fox Den Too, Charlestown, RI 

• Yisha Siu, Yunnan Kitchen, Boston, MA  

• Derrick Teh, SEKALI, Boston, MA 

• Ellie Tiglao, Tanám, Somerville, MA  

• Renee Touponce, The Port of Call, Mystic, CT 

• Milena Pagán, Little Sister, Providence, RI 

• Douglass Williams, MIDA, Boston, MA 

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)

• Nathan Bentley, Altura Bistro, Anchorage, AK 

• Tony Brown, Ruins, Spokane, WA 

• Peter Cho, Han Oak, Portland, OR 

• Joshua Dorcak, MÄS, Ashland, OR 

• Brian Hirata, Na‘au, Hawai‘i Island, HI 

• Jonathan Jones, Epilogue Kitchen & Cocktails, Salem, OR 

• Dan Koommoo, Crafted, Yakima, WA 

• Keaka Lee, Kapa Hale, Honolulu, HI 

• Melissa Miranda, Musang, Seattle, WA 

• Vince Nguyen, Berlu, Portland, OR 

• David Nichols, Eight Row, Seattle, WA 

• Thomas Pisha-Duffly, Gado Gado, Portland, OR 

• Crystal Platt, Lion & Owl, Eugene, OR 

• Beau Schooler, In Bocca Al Lupo, Juneau, AK 

• Sheldon Simeon, Tiffany's, Wailuku, HI 

• Mutsuko Soma, Kamonegi, Seattle, WA 

• Renee Trafton, Beak Restaurant, Sitka, AK 

• Robert Urquidi, Ethel's Grill, Honolulu, HI 

• Aaron Verzosa, Archipelago, Seattle, WA 

• Lee Anne Wong, Papa‘aina, Lahaina, HI 

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

• Sam Fore, Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites, Lexington, KY 

• Josh Habiger, Bastion, Nashville, TN 

• Sam Hart, Counter-, Charlotte, NC 

• Ronald Hsu, Lazy Betty, Atlanta, GA 

• Daniel "Dano" Heinze, Vern's, Charleston, SC 

• Terry Koval, The Deer and the Dove, Decatur, GA 

• Dayna Lee-Márquez, Comal 864, Greenville, SC 

• Jiyeon Lee and Cody Taylor, Heirloom Market BBQ, Atlanta, GA 

• Josiah McGaughey, Vivian, Asheville, NC 

• Ramin Mirzakhani, Laury's Restaurant, Charleston, WV 

• Trevor Moran, Locust, Nashville, TN 

• Dean Neff, Seabird, Wilmington, NC 

• Keith Rhodes, Catch, Wilmington, NC 

• Isaiah Screetch, Spark Community Café, Versailles, KY 

• Jessica Shillato, Spotted Salamander, Columbia, SC 

• Sahar Siddiqi, Chai Pani, Decatur, GA 

• Paul Smith, 1010 Bridge, Charleston, WV 

• Stephanie Tyson, Sweet Potatoes, Winston-Salem, NC 

• Deborah VanTrece, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, Atlanta, GA 

• Preeti Waas, Cheeni Indian Food Emporium, Raleigh, NC 

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)

• Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith, Saint-Germain, New Orleans, LA 

• Timon Balloo, The Katherine, Fort Lauderdale, FL 

• Jeremy and Cindy Bearman, Oceano Kitchen, Lantana, FL 

• Ana Castro, Lengua Madre, New Orleans, LA 

• Fernando, Nando, and Valerie Chang, Itamae, Miami, FL 

• Hunter Evans, Elvie's, Jackson, MS 

• Francis Guzmán, Vianda, San Juan, PR  

• Amarys and Jordan Herndon, Palm & Pine, New Orleans, LA 

• Timothy Hontzas, Johnny's Restaurant, Homewood, AL 

• Alex Perry and Kumi Omori, Vestige, Ocean Springs, MS 

• Rick Mace, Tropical Smokehouse, West Palm Beach, FL 

• Melissa M. Martin, Mosquito Supper Club, New Orleans, LA 

• Pushkar Marathe, Stage, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 

• Henry Moso, Kabooki Sushi, Orlando, FL 

• Charly Pierre, Fritai, New Orleans, LA 

• Colleen Quarls and Liz Hollinger, Molly's Rise and Shine, New Orleans, LA 

• Rafael Rios, Yeyo's El Alma de Mexico, Bentonville, AR 

• Michael Stoltzfus, Coquette, New Orleans, LA 

• Natalia Vallejo, Cocina al Fondo, San Juan, PR 

• Lojo Washington, Queen of Sheeba, West Palm Beach, FL

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)

• Ben Alexander, Mr. Kims, Tulsa, OK 

• Oscar Amador and Francesco Di Caudo, Anima by EDO, Las Vegas, NV 

• Rene Andrade and Roberto Centeno, Bacanora, Phoenix, AZ 

• Kaoru Azeuchi, KAISEKI YUZU, Las Vegas, NV 

• Jaren Bates and Brett Vibber, The Table at Junipine, Sedona, AZ 

• Lisa Becklund, FarmBar, Tulsa, OK 

• Andrew Black, Grey Sweater, Oklahoma City, OK 

• Jeff Chanchaleune, Ma Der Lao Kitchen, Oklahoma City, OK 

• Yip Cheung, Red Plate, Las Vegas, NV 

• Nephi Craig, Café Gozhóó, Whiteriver, AZ 

• Wendy Garcia, Tumerico, Tucson, AZ 

• Basit Gauba, Tikka Spice, Albuquerque, NM 

• Fernando Hernández, Testal, Phoenix, AZ 

• Jimmy Li, ShangHai Taste, Las Vegas, NV 

• Luis and Berenice Medina, El Chile Toreado, Santa Fe, NM  

• Yotaka and Alex Martin, Lom Wong, Phoenix, AZ 

• Andrea Meyer, The Love Apple, Taos, NM 

• Justin Pioche, Pioche Food Group, Upper Fruitland (Doolkai), Navajo Nation, NM 

• David Sellers, Horno Restaurant, Santa Fe, NM 

• Paul Wilson, Boston Title & Abstract, Tulsa, OK

Best Chef: Texas

• Nicola Blaque, The Jerk Shack, San Antonio, TX 

• Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Canje, Austin, TX 

• Damien Brockway, Distant Relatives, Austin, TX 

• Reyna Duong, Sandwich Hag, Dallas, TX 

• Kareem El-Ghayesh, KG BBQ, Austin, TX 

• Jalen Heard, Lane Milne, and Jonny White, Goldee's Barbecue, Fort Worth, TX 

• Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen, Curry Boys BBQ, San Antonio, TX 

• Greg Gatlin, Gatlin’s BBQ, Houston, TX 

• Benchawan Jabthong Painter, Street to Kitchen, Houston, TX 

• Ai Le, Nam Giao, Houston, TX 

• Olivia López and Jonathan Percival, Molino Olōyō, Dallas, TX 

• Enrique Lozano, El Charlatan, Socorro, TX 

• Emiliano Marentes, ELEMI, El Paso, TX 

• Ana Liz Pulido, Ana Liz Taqueria, Mission, TX  

• Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, José, Dallas, TX 

• Regino Rojas, Revolver Taco Lounge, Dallas, TX 

• John Russ, Clementine, San Antonio, TX 

• Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland, Burnt Bean Co., Seguin, TX 

• Kiran Verma, Kiran's, Houston, TX 

• Jon Walter, Chez Sami, Wolfforth, TX 

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

9PLAYLIST 9COLLAB | CHEFS KRISTEN KISH, JUSTIN SUTHERLAND, JEREMY FORD

Read the JAN ISSUE #73 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST 9COLLAB | CHEFS Kristen Kish, Justin Sutherland and Jeremy Ford in mag.

14TH ANNUAL STARCHEFS INTERNATIONAL CHEFS CONGRESS

We headed to Brooklyn for the weekend to watch a number of demonstrations, panel discussions and meeting with a number of vendors at the 14th Annual StarChefs International Congress. We were excited to do a deep dive into its various initiatives that it presents to those in the culinary community. We took some time at the beginning of this conference to talk with StarChefs' Managing Editor, Will Blunt on what took place at the conference, what he's looking forward to as well as the issues facing those in the culinary industry as we go into the next year.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about your background and how you came to Star Chefs?

WILL BLUNT: I grew up in Washington DC and my parents were in politics. I graduated from Georgetown University and like most people, I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I taught high school tennis for a bit and did some work on The Hill for a while. I then decided to jump-start my career by moving to NY – it was the height of the internet exuberance in the late 90s. I was thinking about going the path of a conservative banking job and I did some interviews and I got allergic to the concept. I eventually took a minute to help a friend at what is StarChefs now. This friend had been hired as the first employee after a fundraising round and I got the bug. I’m 20 years in now.

In terms of food, I fell into it and then fell in love with the industry. I do cook and I am really into food; however, I am most inspired by the industry and the people that work within it. In the early 2000s, like most internet companies, we didn’t have a lot of direction, but we were firmly committed with my business partner Antoinette to be completely on the trade side, publish for chefs and make our mission to support chefs and other people in the industry. The idea with that is that it’s a wonderful industry opportunity, but it is also one with with a number of pains and challenges. We have a classifieds area that helps with labor which is a pain, all of our publishing is about best practices and inspirations for chefs and they are really passionate people. I have been most inspired by them in this industry and I do love food. I have gotten to know them really well, but it is truly about the people for me.

AM: What are your day to day roles in StarChefs?

WB: Fortunately we have evolved a bit – we’re still 15 full staff and for this event, we have 100 people who work on it. I do a bit of everything now and we have fortunately evolved to the point that we have great people that have different departments. I do a bit of fundraising and development, HR, I make a point to stay engaged. So let’s say in the early days there were 5 people – I learned to use a camera and my business partner Antoinette as well – there was a rule that everyone needed to be able to use a camera – classic start-up that’s boot strapping. We would do the Tastings Interviews. I didn’t mention it, but our thing that distinguishes StarChefs from any other publication is that we do 600 tastings interviews on the ground, every year across the country. We organize that to the 4 markets typically by quarter and we spend 2-3 hours with the chef, pastry chef, somm, artisan baker, coffee roaster – anyone that’s industry and doing something well. We will visit them, document them and get to know them. We share what we think is done well and would be inspiring for other people. So, all of that to say that, I still do that. It’s important because it’s something I enjoy doing, but we now have a wonderful editor, writers, full time photographer who are super capable, but I still keep my toe in the editorial. Just to stay in touch and I love the culture of the restaurant community.

AM: What’s the biggest thing that you have learned about chefs by working in this environment that still keeps you inspired to be a part of this everyday?

WB: Yes, the industry is still – despite all of the media attention in food TV and all of the exposure with celebrity chef scenarios etc – it’s very merit based and egalitarian. So at the end of the day, even if you have a Top Chef show and all that goes with it, you still face the same challenges. Many of the chefs that really early on inspired me and were early supporters, they all started at the dishwasher level. I think Jean Georges who is one of our Board of Directors he made dog food to start his career – not even human food (editor’s note: at the beginning of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s career in Michelin three-starred L’Auberge de l’Ill in Alsace, he cooked and prepared the meals for the guests dogs)! Marcus Samuelsson who is a great friend and supporter, worked a hot dog stand, Bobby Flay scooped ice cream and so it’s very honest in that sense. There’s less patience in the industry because the demographic is such that there is such an explosion and there isn’t really a shortage. There are more opportunities that are quicker in the industry, but at the end of the day, there is still this certain base or sense of needing to work to get to where you are. I admire that and I like supporting people that are working that hard and trying to make it in an industry that has a lot of opportunity, but a lot of failure. I think 80% of all restaurants fail in the first 3 years or something along those lines. I think that my staff has had a lot of great people that have worked in the industry or gone to culinary school. We are all motivated by trying to be that extra leg up, or piece of perspective or inspiration. Folks that come to this conference – the best version for their experience of busting their ass all year is to come here to get a few days off to be inspired and to remind themselves on why they do what they do.

AM: Going into 2020, what do you think are 3 of the biggest issues that chefs are concerned about?

WB: Yeah of course! In this conference, I am hosting a session with Restaurateur Sean Feeney, his partner Chef Missy Robbins of Misi and Lilia and then Cosme’s Chef Daniela Soto-Innes – we will talk about restaurant culture and moving it forward. That was the theme of our conference last year, but it’s about being better humans. How you treat people and the culture. Everyone is on board in theory with that; however, I think that the challenge in terms of 2020 and beyond is how you walk the talk. It’s a challenge that’s easy to say in terms of providing benefits, treating employees better, more decent hours – but how do you develop the strategies to run a successful business and still do that?

I think that there is something that has developed amongst chefs and those in the industry in general, the brand image – it’s another panel we just finished. It focuses on how you manage your time and capital, what you invest in. That has been something that has built up over time. Which events do you decide to do and now it’s even more when you look at social media in how you present yourself and how much energy you put in to that. What opportunities do you say yes to and it’s pretty high level as not everyone is at that point. I think that even on a micro level, people who are starting out and opening a restaurant, they need to decide on investing in PR, social media and that’s another thing. I think there are the ongoing challenges that may not be 2020 challenges, but it’s becoming more acute with the larger companies that have bigger scale that are snatching up real estate that independent restaurateurs have harder times to access. Starting a restaurant is harder and harder and having to leverage to get the right space at the right price and to keep it once you're successful. That is a serious issue and when you look at NYC it's a great example because we have parts of Manhattan that are unattainable and all the leases are controlled by large management companies. Then you have the chains, I’m not saying that they’re all bad – they employ people and there are great ones that do home scratch cooking – but for the independent restaurant and chef that is a challenge.

AM: What are 3 panels, demonstrations, workshops etc that you are excited about for this year’s StarChefs?

WB: Our program is really strong this year and we tried to involve people that are more or less famous although our name is StarChefs, we’re not all about stardom. Some of the items I will highlight may seem like the less obvious ones. Ben and Brent from The Meat Hook will be doing an event on the main stage which they call Vintage Beef. I don’t know how much you know about them, but it’s my local butcher. They have been exploring different ways that they can be sustainable. One issue we have across the food system that we have with meat at least is a lot of our USDA and certification is centered around young animals. So they are going to be fabricating a 12 year old bull and they will serve it as a tartare. Apparently, I haven’t had it, but it tastes like an aged beef which is a cool thing to demonstrate that dairy cows, bulls etc have value if we could get to a place where we not only use the whole animal but all animals. I think that that will be a good one!

I think that an obvious one is that we have the most signups for Chef Francis Mallmann who is on Chefs Table on Netflix. He is so inspiring and I have wanted him to present for years! He is closing the show and he will be building a fire in the parking lot outside and presenting on the mainstage a vegetable roll! It will be carmelized and cooked with the fire ahead of publishing his Vegan cookbook which will be out next year. It's pretty cool as he has always been identified with a lot of meats. I think that for our chefs, one of the reasons why they are so excited for it aside from the fact that Chef Mallmann due to his great presence is that cooking with fire is really a thing that chefs find to be a bit of challenge. Everyone wants to cook with fire and it’s a trend, but how you actually harness fire, to cook consistently at different temperature points – those techniques are great takeaways for chefs.

I mentioned the panel earlier with the discussion with Daniela and Sean, they are 2 really special people that are models and examples of what the future of our restaurant industry should be and models that they should look at as one if a chef and one is a restaurateur. They have cool strategies to improving restaurant culture.

IG @StarChefs

@Will_Blunt

We sat down with James Beard Nominated husband and wife duo of Don Angie to talk about their West Village Italian American restaurant.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about Don Angie for our readers who have yet to swing by?

ANGIE RITO: It’s an Italian American restaurant in the West Village here in NYC. It’s more American leaning than Italian. We both grew up in Italian American families – like super passionate about red sauce and we take quite a few liberties with it. We use a lot of different ingredients and take more of a global approach to it.

AM: Why did you decide to do it like that?

AR: To be honest, there are a number of reasons and the major one being – we like to incorporate a lot of flavors that we like that aren't Italian into our food. Whether they're like Chinese or Japanese - or whatever it is. We just like to cook ingredients that we like. In NYC especially, there are a lot of Italian restaurants so we really like to set ourselves a part and this is the main way that we do that. Coming up with our own style of Italian food that we like that’s a broad perspective on what we do.

AM: As a husband and wife team, how does that work for you to cook together, work together – how does that coupleship work?

AR: We’re both super passionate about what we do and that’s what drives us. We could never work in this industry separately because we would never see each other. We tried doing it for a while. At the beginning of our relationship, we worked separately and like I said, you’re working 14-15 hour days and we wouldn’t see each other. We felt that working together was the best way to do what we loved together. It also works to our advantage. We’re typically on the same page and we can read each other’s minds because we spend so much time being together. It kind of helps because we communicate minimally when we’re at work and we’re always on the same page.

AM: What would you guys say would be your signature dishes at Don Angie?

AR: The most recognizable one is our lasagna. It’s a pinwheel style lasagna. That’s the one that everyone photographs and it’s all over Instagram. Aside from that, our Chrysanthemum Salad which is basically treated like a Caesar salad with a garlic anchovy dressing a lot of parmesan, sesame bread crumbs. The third thing would be ….

SCOTT TACINELLI: I’d say it’s a toss up between two things, the Buffalo Milk Caramelle and the Stuffed Garlic Flatbread.

AR: Oh I agree! Our Buffalo Milk Caramelle is a two tone black sesame and persimmon pasta. We just did a demo of our flatbread. This is something that is traditionally Italian, but we totally take it in a different direction by putting sesames on it, garlic, garlic chives and so it’s different than the original one.

AM: When did you guys know that you wanted to be chefs?

SC: I changed my careers as I did something else for like 9 years. I always loved cooking when I was a child and then I decided that I should try cooking and took a few classes at culinary school and then I went full time.

AR: For me, I always wanted to have a restaurant since I was a little kid. I used to play pretend restaurant when I was a kid. I wasn’t sure about what path in terms of cooking, working front of house or what that would be. I grew up in an Italian American family that had a bakery and I liked working there. I grew up in a very food-oriented family. Once I moved to NYC right after college, I was working as a waitress in a restaurant and at that moment at 21, I knew I was so passionate that I really wanted to know how to cook it. I started cooking then and didn’t go to culinary school and just asked if I could volunteer in the kitchen and I kept going.

AM: Do you guys envision another location or going to an entirely different coast?

AR: I think that the next thing that we would do is probably something in NYC, preferably something in the West Village as that’s where Don Angie is and easier for us to be present.

ST: I don’t know if it would be another Don Angie’s. AR: No, it would be another concept.

AM: How was it for you when you were nominated for a James Beard Award?

AR: I was surprised – I was like, ok! It was super exciting and I just wasn’t expecting it.

ST: I was very surprised and it was such an honor to be recognized by such an esteemed organization!

AR: Especially in NYC where there are so many other people!

AM: Do you forsee having a TV show or presenting your brand in different ways that we know chefs utilize.

AR: We are working on a cookbook right now. It won’t be out until 2021.

ST: We’re going to take it day by day and see what comes!

IG: @DonAngieNYC

When it comes to one of our favorite comfort foods, it's pizza! It incorporates a number of traditional ingredients as well as those that aren't. We chatted with Emily Hyland of Pizza Loves Emily and Emmy Squared to talk about how this food became the catalyst to this successful business.

ATHLEISURE MAG: So, pizza – why do you like pizza so much?

EMILY HYLAND: I mean, I think it harkens back to the quality of this nostalgia that all of us have as Americans. We all have this memory of pizza parties with friends or going out and have pizza or enjoying a slumber party and ordering pizza. It’s this uniting American food that lives in the state of our history. So why wouldn’t we want to have pizza?

AM: We know a few people who say that they don’t like pizza and we’re like, “really?”

EH: My dad says that and then every time he comes in he eats like a whole freaking pizza!

AM: How did you transfer this love for pizza to saying, I want to have a restaurant and make a business out of pizza?

EH: It was a dream for me and at that time, my husband as a dream for many years. We were in a moment where I had transitioned out of being a public school teacher and was a full time yoga teach – which is a next to nothing earnings for that time and space in my life. We had moved to Brooklyn and he was apprenticing at a neopolitan restaurant. I remember the day that he came home and he said, “I put my hands on the dough and this is what I want to do.” So the time and space really opened up and we took a chance and that really got us into our first brick and mortar, Pizza Loves Emily. From there, we found growth partners through our wonder partner Howard who has taken this small little baby, our first child and has helped us merge this into a growing company.

AM: How does it feel to know how you started and how it has evolved into what exists now?

EH: It’s really been surreal and I haven’t digested it – no pun intended! It’s weird as the founder and the namesake to have this identity that’s so rooted in my heart and then to relinquish some of this control to this corporate structure that is developing. It’s tons of learning and really taking something that is so very much mine and making it ours in this whole team. I love it and I’m having so much fun! The people that we have brought on to help it grow like the Director of Operations, the Director of Marketing are so talented and really care so much about the concept that it has made it so much nicer to be able to go to work everyday.

AM: What would you identify as your 3 signature pizzas?

EH: Our 3 signature pies at Emmy Squared are the Colony – so that’s got pepperoni, pickled chili honey so you’ve got salty, spicy, sweet trifecta – hands down fan favorite. Not too far behind it is the Vodka Pie. It’s house made, really nice creamy vodka sauce – the way I do it is dollops of burrata on it – I do it like a Margarita and just go extra on it. Then the Roni Supreme. A classic pie with tons of pepperoni and tons of Calabrian chili on it. So it’s like an elevated pepperoni pizza and the Calabrian chili oil is not so much spicy, but warm - it really rounds out the pie really nicely.

AM: Where do you get your pizza inspiration from?

EH: That’s all from our head chef, Chef Matt. He is really talented at developing topping creations and is trained as a culinary artist and a lot of that vision is from him. He conceptually wanted Emmy Squared and Pizza Loves Emily to be fun and not rooted in the formality that so many more esoteric pizza places do when they say, “this is what pizza is supposed to be.” We just wanted to open ourselves up to the variety of toppings that we could have without judgment. What you want is what you like!

AM: What are 3 ingredients that you like to have on hand when it comes to making that best pizza?

EH: So I think it’s our cheese obviously! At our original location, we still make our own mozzarella by hand. Over at Emmy Squared, we have a chef blend which we sprinkle around on the outside of the edge of the pan and it carmelizes with the dough on the pan so you get a fried cheese which is delicious. Our Ezzo Pepperoni cups are our ronis that cup nicely on the pizza. We also use really high quality flour. We use King Arthur Flour that is here in America and not shipped over from Italy. We start from that simple ingredient and just build from there and just add yeast, water and a little bit of salt as it doesn’t take much and we’re very simple with our dough.

AM: What are your goals as we close 2019 and thinking ahead to 2020 – what are you excited about for your brand?

EH: For the brand for next year, we’re really thinking about what it means to grow on a national scale. We just opened in Philadelphia and we will be in Washington, DC by the end of the year. If not then, early 2020 and on a growth path from there. Through my lens from there, my goal is to figure out how I can maintain this genuinely robust culture as a restaurant environment for my employees as well as to ensure that the same level of warmth is available to our guests that are coming in to dine with us. That is a big goal for me and when we do openings, I try to greet every guest table the few days that I am there and to say hi and to instill that cultural feel. I think that the other facet of it is to just synthesize our team and to lean on the talent there. It’s 2019, we’re all leading full robust lives. What are the things that my team members do that they can bring in and to support the types of things that we’re doing so that we are growing. We’re very people focused!

IG: @EmilyHyland

@PizzaLovesEmily

@EmmySquared

When we chatted with Will Blunt earlier in this conference, he shared that we should catch The Meat Hook founder's session on Vintage Beef and how they are lending their craft to the sustainable movement. We sat down with Ben Turley and Brent Young to find out about this duo, their business and what the holiday season is like for them.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We enjoyed sitting in your demonstration focusing on regenerative agriculture. How did you guys decide that you would be butchers, was this always a plan?

BEN TURLEY: We were both line cooks for a long time and living in Richmond, Virginia which is where we met. A small little butcher shop opened and we started interning there on our off time and the more you learned, the more questions we had. It wasn’t a whole animal shop as that’s not what existed at the time. The more we dug into it, we realized we wanted to do this and we moved to NYC to do just that. We could only find one restaurant group on the East Coast that was doing a whole animal program and we ended up opening a butcher shop for them and very quickly, it was disorganized and if you were going to be in it, you had to know everything like the finances. We thought we had to do it for ourselves and we ended up deciding to open our own shop. But essentially, we fell into it backwards and we were genuinely super interested in it as no one was doing it and we did and that was it.

AM: How do you go about finding the different farmers and farms that you’re working with? Are you constantly rotating things in?

BT: No not really. The whole idea is to develop a relationship with someone that you are going to find at a Farmer's Market and has dedication to their their craft. We’re very lucky to have found a great network of farms when we started. The whole idea was that we wanted to work with one farm that did one thing and that way, every single week, we’re able to give them feedback and not just buying things from all over. It was about having a very structured system and it was great because people could enjoy it and say that they would like to visit us and we could let them know the farm for them to visit. We wanted complete transparency in the food chain which is a major reason why we started this.

AM: We were talking with Will Blunt earlier this morning and he was talking about how you work with age cows. We had never had one before and we wondered what a Jersey cow would taste like. What was the thought behind integrating this as well?

BT: We had been tasting this on our own and when we would go up to the farm, we knew that they were not going to go and grind an older animal. We knew that they would have it in their farm store so when we went up there, we would just make a habit of asking if they had older animals. We would take them home and I remember the first one that I had cooked. I cooked it to medium and it was tough as nails and it sucked; however, the flavor was still incredible and you could tell that there was something still there. So we just brought it home for ourselves when we were there and eventually, we realized it was something that we had learned enough about that we could bring this into restaurants and have a dinner focused around these older animals. We were always blown away by these older animals. The texture was so different then what we had always been told it would be like and we thought it was phenomenal that no one knew about and no one was giving towards.

AM: Are there various breeds of cows you tend to deal with more versus others?

BT: Because everything we do is grass fed and grass finished, only a couple of breeds do well on grass and that would be Angus, Devon – that’s the best and what the farmers raise. We’re like, you guys know the grasses and we’ll tell you how it tastes. We’re the marketers for them!

AM: With the holiday season upon us, how crazy is this time of year?

BT: Bonkers.

BRENT YOUNG: Very busy!

AM: Do people order in advance with you. Just thinking about our readers that may be interested in swinging by today or prepping for their holiday meals, how would they go about it?

BT: We do everything online. We realized that after a few years, the amazing nature of human fallibility and error, all ordering is on our website. For Thanksgiving, we have a lot of options on our website. We’ll have over 550 turkeys for Thanksgiving this year. We normally sell 450, but we decided to go for it this year so we have a lot of turkeys. Then early Nov we’re heads down and you can’t even look up until after Thanksgiving and then 3 days after Thanksgiving, Christmas ordering happens and it’s heads down through New Years.

AM: Is there a down season when the orders aren’t as frequent?

BT: March. Just because we’re in NYC and everyone leaves in March. If you can get the hell out in March, your probably should!

AM: What are 3 dishes that you guys like to make with the items that you butcher when you’re at home?

BT: Both of us shop and we use what needs to be used. My personal favorite is beef shank and we always have beef shank. I think it’s still the most delicious things – it’s a nice project and it takes a couple of hours to get to relax and cook for that time.

BY: Chicken! Chicken in all forms. Last night was Chicken and Rice with scallions and a really simple sauce that was perfect for me. A real chicken and rice dish. I think that chicken to this day is so versatile and could be used in so many ways. It’s worth twice the price that you can pay for it.

AM: Why did you guys want to participate in this year’s congress?

BT: First year and I mean we were asked. We jumped on the opportunity. Talking about local meet is our mission and super fun and doing demos is fun too – no brainer!

IG: @TheMeatHook

@BenjaminStephen

@BrentonYoung

PHOTO CREDITS | Paul Farkas

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see 14th Annual StarChef’s International Chefs Congress in mag.

AUTISM SPEAKS CHEFS GALA 2019

This month, we headed to Cipriani Wall Street to the 13th Annual Autism Speaks Celebrity Chef Gala which is a phenomenal event that has a number of top acclaimed chefs and culinary institutions serving its 400 guests 4 courses of curated meals tableside. In addition to watching these meals that differed by table, attendees heard about a number of the successes that this organization provides for those who are on the spectrum and their family and friends who support them. Since 2007, the Chef Gala has raised more than $13 million in support of the autism community to raise money for research, advocacy, programs and services that support people with autism and their families. This year's event was hosted by Chef Andrew Zimmern along with Co-Chairs, Christina Tosi (Restaurateur and Founding Chef of Milk Bar) and Matt Higgins the Co-Founder/CEO of RSE Ventures, Vice Chairman of Miami Dolphins and Guest Shark on ABC's Shark Tank. It honored Tim Jones, CEO of Publicis Media Americas.

We wanted our readers to know more about autism, what Autism Speaks as an organization provides and to find out more on some of the acclaimed chefs that participated in this event!

ATHLEISURE MAG: What is autism and what does it means to be on the spectrum?

AUTISM SPEAKS: Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children in the United States today.

We know that there is not one autism but many subtypes, most influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. The ways in which people with autism learn, think and problem-solve can range from highly skilled to severely challenged.

Some people with ASD may require significant support in their daily lives, while others may need less support and, in some cases, live entirely independently.

AM: What signs should parents be aware of that indicate that their child could have autism?

AS: Indicators of autism usually appear by age 2 or 3. Some associated development delays can appear even earlier, and often, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months. Research shows that early intervention leads to positive outcomes later in life for people with autism.

Many children with autism do not show signs, and some who do not have autism show some. That’s why professional evaluation is critical in diagnosing autism. The signs of autism depend on the age of a child and can vary widely – from avoidance of eye contact to lack of babbling or speech to repetitive behaviors.

The M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers™) can help you determine if a professional should evaluate your child. This simple online autism risk screening questionnaire, available on our website, takes only a few minutes. If you have any concerns about your child's development, don't wait. Speak to your doctor about screening.

AM: How is Autism Speaks a resource to those that are affected by autism whether they have it themselves or are connected to someone that is?

AS: Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. We do this through advocacy and support; increasing understanding and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder; and advancing research into causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions.

AM: We enjoyed attending the gala at Cipriani and it was amazing to see that the auction raised over $100K. Are there other events that Autism Speaks has for the remainder of the year that we should keep an eye out for?

AS: This year, thanks to the generosity of both the wonderful chefs and all who attended, Autism Speaks raised $1.3M from the Celebrity Chef Gala. There are many other ways to support Autism Speaks’ mission year-round; you can find more at AutismSpeaks.org/GetInvolved. There are also hundreds of autism-friendly events listed on AutismSpeaks.org.

We had the chance to talk with Autism Speak's President, Angela Geiger at this event to find out about the initiatives that they are focused on as well as why this event in particular is one that is so important to them in terms of their partnership with those in the culinary community. We also interviewed some of our favorite chefs who are at some of the top restaurants in the world.

ANGELA GEIGER | President of Autism Speaks

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why is Autism Speaks so important and what are those initiatives that you are trying to get out about that?

ANGELA GEIGER: We’re celebrating our 15th anniversary of Autism Speaks next year. In the world of health disorders, it’s a short time. The amount of progress that has been made because of the legacy organizations and Autism Speaks being a big tent and really welcoming everyone no matter where you are on the spectrum, and now not just for kids but as adults who have autism who needs support too.

AM: How important is this event in terms of working with the culinary community and having this kind of partnership?

AG: I think one of the really fun things about tonight, is that it allows us to celebrate big victories like things that Autism Speaks has done to help tons of people and it also shines a light on small victories like one of the things that we are going to talk about tonight is and Instagram post that was shared recently where someone tried toast for the first time and it was a really big thing for their family. So it’s important for us to really remember that all of this matters.

AM: How do you feel about your role in this organization and what are the challenges that you’re looking at and excited to take on as we close this year out and go into the next one?

AG: I think that one of the biggest challenges is that autism is a spectrum and there are people with very different challenges and very different opportunities. Making sure that we’re welcoming for everybody is one of the most important things that we can do!

IG @AutismSpeaks

CHEF MARIA LOI Owner & Chef of Loi Estiatorio,

NY, NY

ATHLEISURE MAG: What are your 3 favorite dishes at your restaurant?

CHEF MARIA LOI: Branzino that’s for sure. The Bean Soup – I love it and eat it everyday! And of course, my yogurt!

AM: What are 3 ingredients that you like to always have on hand that is used in a number of the dishes that you like to create?

CHEF ML: Yes of course, it’s easy for me. I always like to have beans, olive oil and honey!

IG @ChefMar

@LoiEstiatorio

CHEF GABRIEL KREUTHER Owner and Michelin Two Star Chef of Gabriel Kreuther, NY, NY

ATHLEISURE MAG: We had the pleasure of enjoying a meal at Eataly via their Chefs Collaborations with your Chef Adam Hill last fall around this time which was phenomenal! Can you share with us the 3 signature dishes that we should be eating at Gabriel Kreuther.

CHEF GABRIEL KREUTHER: I think one of them is the Sturgeon and Sauerkraut Tart, I’m known for the Foie Gras so the Foie Gras Terrine and Pistachio Praline and the Tarte Flambee it’s something that I grew up with that I I love as it’s a simple thing flatbread with cheese and some bacon. But then there is also the Squab and Foie Gras Crostini – it keeps changing with the seasons!

AM: What are your 3 favorite ingredients that you like to cook with?

CHEF GK: Well strangely enough, it keeps moving too – seasonality and too much of the same thing, it’s kind of like you don't want it anymore. I love simple things and also things that are more luxurious. I love caviar in general, I love foie gras in general, but I also love simple things like sauerkraut. So, I like to combine very very simple things with very luxurious things! Right now, I am looking to use the white truffle as the season has just started. Chestnuts are beautiful right now and it just depends and comes down to the mood that you’re in and what you’re looking for and some day you want something more fancy and other days you want something more homey. It all depends – it’s like do you want to drink a good beer or a nice wine? What’s your mood?

AM: We couldn’t agree more and why was it important for you to be participating within this event?

CHEF GK: Well, first of all, it’s very rare to see so many chefs together. It shows also that when an industry wants to come together to do something, and to help science out – we can actually do nice things! I’m always keen to try to help out to raise money in hopes of making a difference somewhere. It’s shown that everything that has been done over the years has made a difference and I think there is hope when people come together to make that difference. Hopefully, making peoples lives come together and to continue that hope is what it’s about!

IG @GabrielKreuther

CHEF RALPH SCAMARDELLA Chef and Partner of Tao Group

ATHLEISURE MAG: We are huge fans of the Tao Group as there are a number of restaurants and moods that you present there. What are 3 signature dishes that we should be trying whether it’s one of your favorite restaurants or various ones throughout your portfolio?

RALPH SCAMARDELLA: Thank you so much! Well at Tao – each Tao is divided up a little bit differently, so they’re unique. The original one (Tao Uptown) has the Satay Bass which is the most iconic dish and downtown (Tao Downtown) we did it a little more of a Chinese style we did some dishes from China like a whole fish – Snapper that’s deep fried and served with garlic and roasted onions. Of course at Lavo, we have our 1lb meatball which we’re world famous for!

AM: And what about the cocktails? What are 3 that we should have in mind on our next visit?

RS: Oh yeah, the Pama Sutra which is Milagro Silver Tequila mixed with Pomegranate Liqueur and Fresh Lime. The TAO-tini is another great one with Belvedere Mango Passion Vodka, Malibu Rum, Cranberry and Fresh Lime. I like a good Manhattan too! I’m more of a beer and wine guy myself!

AM: When you’re not working, what are 3 things that you like to do?

RS: Sleeping, hanging out with the kids and trying to do as many activities as I can and doing yard work and stuff like that. I like gardening, trees and plants – getting into it.

IG @TaoGroup

CHEF MATT HOYLE Chef of Nobu 57

ATHLEISURE MAG: We are huge fans of Nobu what are 3 signature dishes that our readers should enjoy on their next visit?

MATT HOYLE: Nobu Signature dishes – definitely the Black Cod, also the Yellowtail Jalapeño and maybe one of the Tempura dishes like the King Crab or the Sea Urchin.

AM: That definitely sounds good. What are 3 ingredients that you like to use when you’re making your dishes?

MH: So Wagyu Beef in Japan. You don’t need huge amounts of it, but a few bites of it is so nice. I also love some Uni and Sea Urchin from Japan and some from Santa Barbara, California tonight which will have a slightly different taste

AM: Where do you get your inspiration from when you’re creating these dishes?

MH: From the ingredients and then you have all of the things out there. You put them out for customers and you do it a few times and the response is, “yeah it’s great.” You think about that and when you’re making something else, you think back to those dishes to bring them back in a new way! It’s a process and it’s great!

IG @NobuRestaurants.us

CHEF TONY NGUYEN Executive Chef of Crustacean Beverly Hills and Da Lat Rose, Beverly Hills, CA

ATHLEISURE MAG: What are your go to foods?

CHEF TONY NGUYEN: I’m a midwestern boy from St Louis, Missouri – so we know good food, we know comfort food! My go to is fried foods! I love fried chicken, my fiancé makes the best creole food – Jambalaya, Gumbo, smothered chicken and even biscuits and gravy! These are great and when we came here to NY, of course we had to try the pizza, the bagels and more!

AM: Before we talk about your new restaurant that you’re opening, can you tell us about Crustacean Beverly Hills and 3 signature dishes that we should try?

CHEF TN: OK now, the top 3 signature dishes at Crustacean Beverly Hills, The Garlic Noodles, The Roasted Garlic Crab OVER the Garlic Noodles and then something that we brought here tonight is the Tuna Cigars. We made a fake cigar out of an eggroll wrapper if you will, stuffed it with tuna poke and avocado and putting it in a cigar box. If you open it, there might be some smoke that comes out! It’s a nice little starter!

The new restaurant is call Da Lat Rose. Da Lat is a little town in Vietnam that is very similar to San Francisco. Da Lat means the “City of Eternal Spring” and there are a lot of vegetables year around. We’re not talking about peas only being good in March, they’re good the whole year! Just like California, the avocados are good all year. Even here, let’s be real. You can get a decent tomato year around even though they are the best in the summer time. In February, I think that we can both find a good one!

AM: What are your 3 favorite ingredients to cook with?

CHEF TN: Three favorite ingredients – I love garlic, I love shallots ok! My last favorite ingredient is eggs because you can make so many things out of them!

IG @ChefTonyNguyen

@CrustaceanBH

@DaLatRoseBH

PHOTO CREDITS | Getty Images

Read the Oct Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Autism Speaks Chefs Gala 2019 in mag.

INTRODUCING ATHLEISURE KITCHEN

Whether we’re eating solo, grabbing a meal at lunch or Happy Hour, having a date night or heading to brunch at our favorite spot - farm to table, fast casual, gastro pubs and fine dining places didn’t just pop up on their own. Sometimes we’re cooking from recipes that we inherited from our families, often we’re making and enjoying a dish as recommended by voices of the culinary world. The world of food is nuanced and those that add to its colorful language have a story that directed them to creating their culinary point of view and styles of cooking, their presentation, and how they have strived to envelop and expand their professional brand. In Athleisure Kitchen, we sit down with chefs, restaurateurs, general managers, and food personalities to share how your favorite sweet and savory meals came to your neighborhood and these tastemakers impact and extend their reach in and beyond the food world.

CYCLE BOUND WITH BRYAN VOLTAGGIO + DUFF GOLDMAN

This May, 300 notable chefs and food industry professionals will come together for the annual Chef's Cycle for No Kid Hungry. The third annual ride includes a number of your favorite chefs, and as many are in training mode now, we took a moment with to chat with James Beard Award nominee Bryan Voltaggio of Volt, Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse (MD) and Range (MD) and Charm City Cakes and Food Network's Duff Goldman to see how they came to participate, their training and what they eat when they need a boost.

AM: How long have you worked with No Kid Hungry and why?

BRYAN VOLTAGGIO: I have been working with No Kid Hungry since 2004, and I began by hosting fundraising dinners for them in Washington, D.C. when I was working for Charlie Palmer. As a chef, we are asked to do so much work with different charities. That’s when it really clicked for me -- as I moved forward in my career, I wanted to attach to something measurable and achievable, and No Kid Hungry helped me do that. Feeding our country’s kids is something we can actually accomplish; I cook for a living as well, so I feel like I have a stake in the game. I am not a doctor, scientist, or politician. I cannot cure diseases, but I can help end childhood hunger in America. Since deciding to focus my efforts on one goal, I have had the opportunity to see change happen, be a part of the conversation, and meet some incredible people who share this same passion. Billy and Debbie Shore (cofounders of Share Our Strength, the organization behind No Kid Hungry) have remained the humble champions of this movement and have managed to put together a force that will certainly see the end to this problem. It is their leadership and commitment that is so inspiring.

DUFF GOLDMAN: I've been working with No Kid Hungry for almost 10 years. What's most important to me is that we are chefs, and our job by definition is feeding people. No Kid Hungry works to feed hungry kids, so the fact that so many people in the culinary community actively support them isn't surprising. Most of the work I do on and off camera is with kids. Kids not getting enough to eat, especially in this country with our vast resources, is appalling to me, so anything I can do to get kids fed so they can focus on being kids is the most impactful thing I can do as a chef and as a person.

AM: How long have you been in Chef Cycle and what are you excited about?

BV: This is my third year riding in Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry. I am by no means a veteran and or pro at this. I bought a bike before the first Chefs Cycle ride from NYC to D.C. in 2014, and I put maybe 100-200 miles on the bike before heading up to the start. We left NYC that first morning, and I asked myself, "What the hell are you getting yourself into?" I somehow made the trip -- the whole trip -- and I have never felt a better sense of accomplishment in my life. I became hooked. This year, I look forward to seeing more first-timers and sharing my story in hopes to inspire them to make the trip. I want to see everyone hit their expectations and goals,  and if I can lend a hand, that will be the most rewarding.    

DG: This will be my second year participating in Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry. It's amazing how in just a year I have been consumed by riding my bike. I've always loved riding bikes as a kid, but I am the farthest thing from any kind of endurance athlete. Road biking was always a mystery to me, but now that I have been doing it regularly, it has changed my life. Mentally, I always do better on days when I've ridden. Riding centers me, allows me to daydream and work stuff out, and gets me out of the kitchen/studio and into the sunshine. Physically, I've dropped about 30 pounds since this time last year, and I've noticed a significant improvement in my cardiovascular fitness. I have more energy, I'm in a better mood, and my body just craves good food. When I'm riding every day, I eat clean effortlessly. The thought of a cheeseburger right now is almost gross...almost.

The other thing I love about cycling is how welcoming the other really good cyclists have been. Jeff Mahin, Bryan Voltaggio, Chris Cosentino, and Jason Roberts are all really good cyclists and far from being elitist, which is a fear I think lots of people have etting into cycling. Don't believe it. Everyone at the bike store is really cool, I promise. My best memory from last year's ride was when I was struggling to get up some hills, and Jeff and Jason took turns riding next to me with their hands on my back and helped me up. It was really amazing to see how cycling can be a team sport. Last year, I had no expectations of how well I would do on the ride, and I ended up completing just shy of 100 miles in three days. As I've been training this year, I've gotten close to 70 miles in a day, so I guess I would say my goal this year is to get to 200. That may not sound like much to the really good cyclists out there, but for me that would be a monster effort.

AM: What do you listen to in training?
 
BV: I am currently training in the basement of my home. I live in Maryland, and right now it’s wet, cold, and we could get snow. So I cheat a bit while riding on the trainer and catch up on ESPN and or watch a movie, since my actual human trainer makes me ride for more than an hour and a half at a time. 

DG: Zeppelin. Lots of Zeppelin. Also Junip, Flaming Lips, Aesop Rock, ATCQ, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Jose Gonzalez, Fu Manchu, QOTSA, Coltrane, Fela Kuti. RATM and, some other stuff.

AM: How are you training for this ride and are you an avid cyclist?

BV: I can’t call myself an avid cyclist -- I call myself a “want-to-be” avid cyclist. I want to incorporate riding into my daily schedule and commute more this year. I work so much that I cannot go for those long to stay on the bike daily and ride shorter – two to three times per day maybe. 

DG: I'm not following a specific training routine other than riding my bike for as long as I can as often as possible. So far, I've been sticking to the beach where it's relatively flat, but once I am doing good strong 50 mile rides consistently, I'm going to be tackling hills. Yay. 

AM: What is the best Power Breakfast you can eat when you're about to ride?

BV: I have shakes with fruit and protein in mornings -- my wife encourages that. On some days, eggs simply on a couple pieces of whole grain bread and avocado do the trick. 

DG: For me it's two eggs, turkey or fish, and mixed fruit. Usually pineapple, oranges, mangoes, apples, watermelon, a quart of water, and a big ol' coffee. 

AM: What on the go snacks do you eat when you're looking for energy?

BV: I like to make bars with dried figs, nuts and seeds that I can pack easily in my kit. I also really like Justin’s packaged nut butters. The flavors are great, they are easy to eat on the ride. I want my nutrition on the bike to be as delicious as possible. I like to mix it up.

DG: I always ride with a backpack on, so packing heavier stuff isn't an issue. I only eat fruit on a ride. I like oranges, because it reminds me of soccer games when I was a kid, and also I get a nice break peeling the orange as opposed to just sucking on some gel. There's also a great poke joint in Venice Beach that I sometimes treat myself to.

AM: How do you stay fit in general?

BV: Fit, hmmmm how do you define that -- HA! I spend as much time on the bike as I can. I hate to run, even though I played soccer for 14 years of my life growing up. Maybe that’s why I was the goalkeeper...

DG: I love lifting. All the sports I played in High School and college were very explosive. Football, ice hockey, and lacrosse, so lifting has been part of my life since I was 14. But adding cycling to the routine has been incredible. I feel much more balanced, and my workouts in the gym have become much more effective because my muscles give out before my lungs do. That's huge.

AM: How do you juggle your busy schedule and take time for yourself?

BV: It’s most important for me to figure out how to juggle my family life with everything I have going on. Work is easy to balance, because while I have a bunch of restaurants, I also have a great team that supports them. I am lucky to have a great team that helps ease the stress of operating a business. Working as a chef means that I am working while most families are have dinner together, so I make sure to carve out special time with my family and fit in time to stay on the bike. That is why in 2017, I plan to commute more via two wheels. I have spent time in Copenhagen, Denmark, and if they can do it in that climate, I can do it here. 

DG: It's almost impossible, but the only way is to be disciplined in your allocation of time. If I let work have me, it will take every waking moment. It's just a decision that you have to make to take the time to get on your bike. The snooze button is the absolute enemy. When that alarm goes off...GET UP.

Read more from the Jan Issue.