Latest news with #DeanaIvey
Axios
02-04-2025
- Axios
Nashville restaurants are now eligible for Michelin stars
Nashville restaurants are eligible for the first time to earn Michelin stars, providing another opportunity of acclaim for the city's culinary scene. Why it matters: A Michelin star is one of the restaurant world's top honors, and having one can launch a chef's career into the culinary stratosphere. Zoom in: Nashville's hospitality leaders embraced news of the Michelin Guide expanding to include southern states. Michelin Guide Inspectors are already scoping out restaurants in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. "While we're known globally for our music, our restaurants and chefs have earned national acclaim and are consistently honored among the best in the country," Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. president and CEO Deana Ivey said. Zoom out: While Nashville restaurants and chefs are routinely recognized by the James Beard Foundation, the Michelin Guide is viewed by many as the most coveted culinary honor in the world. How it works: Michelin inspectors visit restaurants anonymously and look for five criteria, the company says. Per a press release, they include: quality products the harmony of flavors the mastery of cooking techniques the voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine consistency between each visit and throughout the menu. Each restaurant is inspected several times a year. The bottom line: Max Goldberg, co-owner of Strategic Hospitality, which boasts a roster of top Nashville eateries like Henrietta Red, the Catbird Seat, and Kisser, celebrated the Michelin news, calling it a "milestone moment for us." Nate's thought bubble: I've eaten at two Michelin-starred restaurants in my life. I had an incredible meal with family members at Osteria Mozza, the Los Angeles mainstay owned by celebrity chef Nancy Silverton. The server humbly told us the orecchiette was the best pasta in the U.S. Last month, I cashed in my Christmas present from my wife: a BBQ road trip to Texas, where we dined at Michelin-starred barbecue joint InterStellar BBQ. The peach tea-braised pork belly has been on my mind every day since.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1st regional Michelin Guide for the American South launched to honor top southern cuisine
The first regional Michelin guide of top restaurants in North America is heading for the Southeast, and its anonymous inspectors are already in the field. This new Michelin Guide American South, announced Wednesday, will cover six states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. It will also encompass a pre-existing Atlanta, Georgia, Guide. The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp is partnering with the state of Tennessee in support of the American South project, said Deana Ivey, NCVC's president and CEO. "We are thrilled that for the first time our Nashville restaurants have the opportunity to be considered by the prestigious Michelin Guide, which reflects the incredible talent and creativity found across our culinary scene,' Ivey said. 'While we're known globally for our music, our restaurants and chefs have earned national acclaim and are consistently honored among the best in the country. Recognition by the Michelin Guide would further cement our reputation as a must-visit destination for food lovers.' The full 2025 restaurant selection will be revealed later this year during the annual Michelin Guide ceremony for the American South. No further details have yet been released about the ceremony. The Michelin Guide was first published in France at the turn of the 20th century to encourage tire sales by giving practical advice to French motorists. It remains a stalwart source for identifying some of the best restaurants in the world. More: A Nashville Michelin Guide? Chefs say they'll be ready if expansion continues South Though the Michelin Guide covers restaurants from casual to fine dining in its search for broader excellence, its coveted Michelin Stars are reserved for the highest in culinary excellence. According to a media statement from Michelin North America, Inc., the new regional approach allows the guide to better uncover the authentic food culture of the American South, outside of its main urban centers. 'We are excited to embark on this new journey for the Michelin Guide as this will be the first time since the Guide's North American debut in 2005 that we are launching a regional selection,' International Director of the Michelin Guides Gwendal Poullennec said. 'The cuisine of the American South is a unique product of diverse influences creating an iconic array of specialties prepared by proud and impressive culinary talent.' The South is a treasure trove of unique culinary culture, from the food of the Gullah-Geechie in the Lowcountry to, yes, Nashville hot chicken. The move to focus on such vibrant regional food is long overdue. "Our region has long deserved global recognition for its extraordinary farm-to-table cuisine, world-class seafood, and rich food culture — crafted by some of the world's most creative and talented chefs,' Travel South USA President Liz Bittner said. 'We couldn't be prouder to be the first region in the country to showcase our culinary assets in big cities and small towns on a global stage." More: A guide to Nashville's James Beard-nominated chefs and restaurants The Michelin Guide is a selection of restaurants that display culinary excellence, based on Michelin's historical methodology. Restaurants must display quality products, harmony of flavors, mastery of cooking techniques, the voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine, and consistency between each visit and throughout the menu. Often, the Michelin Guide has relied on local tourism organizations to support the cost of creating and promoting the guides. Korea paid the company nearly $2 million to bring the guide to Seoul in 2016. A Michelin Star is awarded annually to restaurants deemed by the guide's anonymous judges as displaying mastery of the five criteria required to make it into the guide. Since the early 20th century, inspectors have crowned restaurants with one, two or three stars. A Michelin Star awards the food on the plate and does not take into account the restaurant's style or formality. The awards are handed out annually to the best restaurants around the world. A Michelin Star is one of the most coveted culinary achievements a chef can attain. According to the Michelin Guide, there is no secret mathematical formula; they're just looking for really great cooking. Some Michelin-starred restaurants are innovative, some traditional, some prix fixe and some a la carte. "All we are saying is 'these are the restaurants with the best food, where you will enjoy the most outstanding culinary experiences,'" the guide says. "It is then up to the reader to choose the one that best suits their needs/preferences." Mackensy Lunsford is the senior dining reporter for The Tennessean. You can reach her at mlunsford@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 1st regional Michelin Guide to highlight Southern food, restaurants
Axios
10-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
Nashville's top tourism exec "very optimistic" about hosting Super Bowl
Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. president and CEO Deana Ivey is in New Orleans this week, and it's not for the beignets and gumbo. Why it matters: Ivey's visit to New Orleans is a business trip. Ivey and her team are getting a closer look at how the city puts on a Super Bowl as she spearheads Nashville's efforts to host the big game. State of play: What once fell somewhere between an impossibility and a hail mary is now within reach for Nashville. "I'm very optimistic that we'll have a Super Bowl," Ivey says, mentioning the CVC's "very strong" relationship with the NFL. "We've put in a letter of interest and we've been in discussions with them." The big picture: Nashville's sales pitch has been building over years, Ivey says. It started with the large crowds that gathered downtown for the Predators watch parties during their Stanley Cup run in 2017. Then came the NFL Draft in 2019, which helped the city win a bid to host the FIFA Club World Cup this summer. Flashback: When Tennessee Titans executives and other backers pitched a new indoor stadium, they said it could attract major events like the Super Bowl. Ivey says the domed stadium "gives us an advantage that we didn't have before because of weather related issues." Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell said last week that the new stadium likely "puts Nashville on the map for consideration." Behind the scenes: The NFL's process for selecting a Super Bowl site is famously opaque, so there isn't a clear sense of when the next host city might be announced. Santa Clara will host next year, followed by Los Angeles in 2027 and Atlanta in 2028. New Nissan Stadium is expected to open in time for the 2027-28 NFL season, which seems to make the 2029 Super Bowl the earliest possibility. By the numbers: One requirement that eluded Nashville in the past was its stock of hotel rooms. That's no longer a problem. In 2015, Nashville had 26,516 hotel rooms, according to STR data provided by the Convention and Visitors Corp. That number exploded to 41,215 last year with another 14,000 rooms in the pipeline for the region. The bottom line: Nashville's bid centers around its downtown hotels, the new stadium and a world renowned entertainment district all within close proximity, Ivey says. She recalled the spectacle of the draft, when throngs of fans crowded the stage on Lower Broadway. "You look at it on television, and that shot of the neon on Broadway, it's not something any other destination can really deliver on." The intrigue: It's not just the Super Bowl Nashville is targeting. Ivey says the CVC has been talking to the NCAA about bringing a Final Four to the new stadium as well.
