Latest news with #JamesBeardAward
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Applications For James Beard Foundation's Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Program Are Now Open
The James Beard Foundation (JBF) is accepting applications for its annual Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) program, according to a press release. The 11-week virtual program is designed to help U.S.-based female owners and co-owners with brick-and-mortar business in the food or beverage industries. By offering this educational, training and networking program, WEL provides business owners with the chance to excel and evolve as a leader and discover ways to optimize their business model, as well as identify improvements on internal systems and create best strategies for long-term growth. The Foundation's educational partner is Cornell University. Virtual sessions will be led by Cornell faculty in addition to JBF staff, industry leaders and other experts. WEL's goal is to address systemic issues that women business owners face in their professional journeys and provide tools, resources, and secure networks to guarantee success and more so to see an increase of women-owned businesses and leadership throughout the growing industry. To be eligible for the program, applicants must be at least 21 years old and a woman or nonbinary individual. Applicants must have a minimum of $1 million in annual revenue and be committed to the mandatory attendance policy for each session. The application deadline is June 6 at 11:59 PM PT. Those who make the cut will be notified August 1. The program starts September 8. As the foundation continues to encourage Black women and other women of color to participate, a number of Black chefs and restaurants have received the prestigious James Beard Award, which recognizes ' the exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability and a culture' for all to succeed in. In 2024, Rashida Holmes of Bridgetown Roti in Los Angeles was named one of the Outstanding Chef semifinalists. The Caribbean-American pop-up restaurant is known for its vegan and protein pattie offerings.
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Inside Belmond's $170,000 Bet On Dominique Crenn And Floating Fine Dining
Aboard Belmond's Coquelicot The only thing rarer than a three-Michelin-starred meal on water? One designed by Dominique Crenn, the first woman in the US to earn such a distinction and a regularly-nominated James Beard Award 'Best Chef' recipient. In the past month, Crenn has become the first-ever Culinary Curator for Les Bateaux Belmond—a move that places one of the world's most celebrated chefs at the helm of a high-end river cruise. Best known for her poetic, politically charged cuisine at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, Crenn's new role signals more than a guest chef partnership. She's curating signature menus for Belmond's Burgundy, Champagne and South of France itineraries, with dishes rooted in the regions themselves. According to Crenn, the menus celebrate 'the finest local ingredients and time-honoured techniques,' but make no mistake: this is a chef not known for simply recreating the past. The appointment comes at a time when high-end hospitality is increasingly turning to chefs to deepen storytelling. Belmond, now part of the LVMH portfolio, has already invested heavily in experience-driven travel, from restoring vintage trains to transforming heritage properties into design-led destinations. Food, particularly food with provenance, is a logical next step. With Crenn involved, the culinary side of Les Bateaux Belmond is no longer a feature, but its main draw. And it needs to be, because these are no ordinary cruises. The 'Epicurean Burgundy' itinerary, aboard the six-passenger Lilas, includes a week-long dining tour that amasses 12 Michelin stars across some of France's most storied kitchens. Guests begin at La Côte Saint-Jacques (two stars), before moving through Lameloise (three), Aux Terrasses (one), Georges Blanc (three), and finally Paul Bocuse (two) — a cumulative arc that tells the story of French fine dining from nouvelle cuisine to modern terroir expression. The €135,000 ($153,883) charter includes private wine tastings along the Route des Grands Crus and interiors designed to echo the soft palettes of the region's wildflowers and limestone hills. There are no restaurant pop-ins here, either. Each meal is part of the arc. And, unlike most luxury cruise programmes, the onboard dining—shaped by Crenn's seasonal menus—is intended to hold its own against the marquee names. Dominique Crenn Other itineraries take a quieter approach. A new Bordeaux voyage aboard Alouette — one of the smallest boats in the fleet, with just two ensuite cabins — focuses on wine, wellness, and slow luxury. Guests travel from Agen to Castets-en-Dorthe with stops at the UNESCO-listed vineyards of Saint-Émilion, a vinotherapy session at the Caudalie spa, and a visit to Château d'Yquem, where the world's most coveted sweet wine has been produced since the 16th century. There's also a detour to the Latour-Marliac waterlily garden that inspired Monet, offering one of the few moments where this trip feels overtly romantic. Everything else is crafted for calm, competence, and access. Prices start from €41,000 ($46,739) for four guests. For Burgundy devotees, there's 'La Semaine des Grands Crus,' a route designed to immerse guests in the region's most prestigious vineyards. Aboard Amaryllis or Fleur de Lys, travellers explore all 33 Grand Cru designations—a feat nearly impossible to recreate privately—and take part in cellar tastings at revered producers like Maison Joseph Drouhin. In Beaune, they're given rare access to the Hôtel-Dieu and a tour of Drouhin's medieval wine caves, followed by dinner onboard with Chevalier-Montrachet and Clos des Lambrays poured alongside local specialties. These charters begin at €135,000 ($153,886) for up to six guests—arguably, the sort of trip designed not for wine lovers, but for wine investors. Some of the food available on-board And then there's Coquelicot. This five-night cruise through Champagne includes exclusive access to Veuve Clicquot's 24km of UNESCO-protected crayères in Reims and a behind-the-scenes look at Maison Ruinart's historic Taissy vineyard. The headline, though, is a five-course dinner cooked by Ruinart's in-house chef, Valérie Radou, served on deck as the boat drifts through late-summer vines. In partnership with the world's oldest champagne house, it's priced accordingly: €150,000 ($170,979) for the full charter. It's tempting to frame all this as a cruise programme for the ultra-wealthy—and it is—but it's also part of a broader movement within the luxury market, where status is no longer signalled through things, but through access. Who's cooking your dinner. Who's pouring your wine. Whether you're behind the scenes at Yquem or simply buying the bottle. For Belmond, which has spent the past decade refining its brand identity around art de vivre, bringing in a chef like Crenn is both an aesthetic and strategic move. LVMH has always understood how food and fashion speak the same language of aspiration. This is that, played across a culinary itinerary rather than a catwalk. Les Bateaux Belmond river cruises What makes the Crenn partnership especially compelling is that it avoids the trappings of most chef-collaborations. There's no 'Crenn at Sea' concept, no slapdash signature dish, no photo ops. Instead, there's a framework. She creates the menus. The boats serve them. They change with the seasons and regions. And they're designed, crucially, to support local ingredients and traditions —not just put her name on the masthead. In that sense, it's closer to a residency model than a marketing campaign. And yet, the decision to work with Belmond is also telling. Crenn is known for working on her own terms—she doesn't court brands easily. The combination of heritage, hospitality, and quiet creativity would understandably appeal. She's long spoken about her summers in Brittany, her connection to water, and her desire to create food that reflects more than geography. For her, this partnership is as personal as it is professional. It's not just the price tag or the chef's name that signals luxury here—it's the pacing, the sourcing, the sense that you are not being dazzled but invited in. These aren't cruises. They're moving, multi-course love letters to France. And if you can afford one, you'll likely come back more fluent in both its flavours and its philosophies.
Eater
6 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Inside Gold Coast's Over-The-Top New Steakhouse Perched in a Downtown Skyscraper
In recent times, Chicago has been once again embracing its meatpacking history with a rush of new steakhouse openings. Trend pieces are no doubt on their way about the allure of comfort food and a need to return to the simple life. However, that's not the formula deployed at the Alston, an opulent steakhouse that debuts on Friday, May 30, on the third floor of the 971-foot-tall One Chicago, a $750 million skyscraper built in 2022. This is the same building that houses Gold Coast's Whole Foods. The food's from Jenner Tomaska, the James Beard Award finalist behind Esme in Lincoln Park. Tomaska is showing discipline at Alston, embracing his new role in developing a steakhouse menu that can appeal to the masses without sacrificing his avant-garde style that brought Esme a Michelin Star. The hope is that Tomaksa can incorporate elements of fine dining, including superior service, quality ingredients, and cheffy techniques, to show Chicago that a great steakhouse is about more than just keeping the juices in the chops. Tableside preparations include a bread cart and a duck press with the poultry carved in front of diners. The Alston is supposed to represent Midwestern steakhouses crossed with nouvelle French cuisine. The meat is prime and dry-aged, cooked over charcoal. Wagyu comes from American, Japanese, and Aussie sources. They range from $55 for a six-ounce dry-aged filet to $260 for a 16-ounce, 60-day dry-aged American wagyu chop, called the S.W. Chairman's Cut. That comes with a butter infused with Red Boat Vietnamese fish sauce. An arsenal of sauces is available to accent the selections. A rack of Dover sole is a tribute to Esme's tasting menu and its unique showstopper. Salt-baked trout is also available. A selection of pastas and salads should sate vegetarians. A Members Tower costs $300 and comes with a dozen oysters, four spot prawns, three razor clams, two scallops, a half-pound of King crab, and a whole cold water lobster. Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which also runs Kindling inside the Willis Tower, continues its downtown push. Visitors will find an assortment of textures used throughout the space. Don't blink, your eyes aren't deceiving you — the art on the ceiling of the main dining room changes. There's a digital projection screen that can stream a variety of art. It's a way Tomaska can bring a touch of Esme to the world of beef. There's a wine cellar, with selections curated by Charlie Trotter's alum Ken Frederickson, and tons of space for private events. A terrace with beautiful views of downtown Chicago will debut later this summer. Management hopes the outdoor seating will be more cocktail-focused, and there are plans for live music. There's also a members-only club which is downright intimate compared to the main dining room. That will come with a special menu. Walk through the space below and check out select dishes in the photos below. The Alston , 750 N. State Street, third floor, opening on Friday, May 30, reservations via OpenTable . Sign up for our newsletter. Pommes Boulangères au gratin
Eater
6 days ago
- Eater
Alaska Airlines Is Serving First-Class Passengers Food From an Award–Winning Seattle Chef
First-class passengers flying some cross-country flights on Alaska Airlines this summer are going to get an extra perk — starting June 5, they'll be able to get meals composed by Seattle's James Beard Award–winning chef Brady Williams, who owns the White Center restaurant Tomo. Morning flights between Seattle and Newark, JFK, or Regan National in Washington, DC can get a a mochi waffle and fried chicken meal, while afternoon and evening flights between those destinations will get either short ribs glazed with serrano jaew or buckwheat soba and seared ahi tuna tataki. It's an expansion of the 'Chef's (tray) Table' program Alaska rolled out last year with San Francisco chef Brandon Jew, which highlights 'celebrated chefs up and down the West Coast.' It's a partnership that connects Alaska to not just those chefs, but several small farms and ranches that provide ingredients for their dishes. For instance, the short ribs in Williams's dish come from Washingston's Klingemann Farms. 'What is really luxury, what is really first class?' says Jew. 'I think it's actually quality of ingredients.' Alaska was already connected with Williams through its sponsorship of Tomo's Buds guest chef series. Williams did his first tasting presentation to Alaska's team last August and has been tweaking and refining ever since. One challenge for Williams is that taste buds are dulled at 30,000 feet, meaning that flavors generally have to be bolder and stronger than they might be on the ground. Williams says that he leaned into umami and acid. The resulting dishes — which I tried at a media tasting event this week at Alaska headquarters — aren't quite like dining at Tomo. It's more like dining at Tomo, bringing leftovers home, then reheating them in the microwave. That isn't meant to be a dig, just a reflection of the difficulty of airplane cuisine: The dishes have to be made hours in advance (the night before in the case of the breakfasts) then reheated in a convection oven. It's a minor miracle that anything tastes good after going through that process. The chicken that comes with the mochi waffles is actually miraculously moist under the tempura crust. The rice cakes that come with the short ribs are stir-fried with soy sauce and rice wine and pack an umami punch. And the tuna is both refreshingly chilled and spicy enough to get your attention. (It'll be served with the cold soba noodles to first-classers coming back from the hot, swampy East Coast.) It's a cut above airplane food... but it's still airplane food. If you have the kind of coin or expense account that is sending you across the country in first, you'll have likely experienced better meals on either end of your trip. First-class passengers can pre-order these meals before their flights; those not in first class won't have access to any of it. But they'll be able to avail of Alaska's other efforts to incorporate premium PNW food brands into their flights, like Stumptown Coffee or Fremont Brewing. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sister Pie, a beloved bakery in Detroit's West Village, to go on hiatus
Sister Pie, the beloved Detroit West Village bakery known for its stunning pies, announced it is going on hiatus. A favorite place for pie, cookies and other notable baked goods, Sister Pie stunned its fans on Wednesday, announcing on social media that it's closing, at least temporarily. Owner Lisa Ludwinski, acclaimed author and 2019 James Beard Award finalist, cited a need for 'a period of rest and radical reconfiguration, of exploration and experimentation,' according to a Facebook post. Ludwinski stated the need to make 'temporary, necessary changes to our operations.' Sister Pie's last day for regular business will be June 8. 'Although the spirit of Sister Pie is alive and well, I've arrived at the conclusion that the business isn't working in its current state,' Ludwinski wrote. While Ludwinski said multiple factors contributed to the decision, one was 'most urgently in the form of a financial crisis,' though she did not elaborate. 'The year 2025 (so far) has been about confronting truth, sometimes courageously and in community, and at other times, under a blanket. As a business owner and a leader, I'm learning, reminiscing, mourning, growing, and searching for hope in the midst of challenge and chaos,' the post read. Following the Facebook post are more than 200 comments ranging from well wishes to advice on finding its way into retail markets and sadness that the closure is happening. During its closure, Ludwinski says they will fulfill special orders and do occasional pop-ups and events 'to keep the roof over our heads.' Sister Pie's baking classes will continue throughout the closure. While Ludwinski didn't say how long Sister Pie would remain closed, she encouraged fans to support its staff and visit the bakery in the next couple of weeks. Ludwinski is known for her pies and other baked goods that hail from the Sister Pie shop, which opened in 2015. Hallmarks of Ludwinski's pies are a crust featuring a thick, crimped decorative edge, rich golden color and a buttery taste paired with a flaky texture. Ludwinski's delightful 'Sister Pie: The Recipes & Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit' (Lorena Jones Books, $25) was published in 2018. The cookbook shares the story of Ludwinski's distinctive pies and other baked goods, including savories, and her beloved Sister Pie bakery in Detroit's historic West Village. The year the book came out, the New York Times noted it as one of 'The Best Baking Cookbooks of 2018,' as did the Chicago Tribune. Sister Pie and Ludwinski have received accolades nationwide, including Ludwinski's James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Baker in 2019 and 2020 and as a semifinalist in 2017 and 2018 in the same category. A huge shout-out in Bon Appetit magazine carried the headline 'We'd Visit Detroit Just to Eat at This Pie Shop.' After spending half a dozen years in New York working at Christina Tosi's Milk Bar and Brooklyn's Four & Twenty Blackbirds, Ludwinski returned to Michigan and started Sister Pie out of her parents' home. After winning $50,000 in the 2014 Comerica Hatch contest, Ludwinski opened Sister Pie in 2015 on the corner of Kercheval and Park in Detroit's West Village. On Friday, Ludwinski is to appear at 6 p.m. at a sold-out event at the Loom in Wyandotte for 'An Evening with Lisa Ludwinski of Sister Pie,' discussing recipes from her cookbook along with samples. Sister Pie baking classes include learning how to make pie dough, scones and other baked goods. Space is still available in some of the classes. For information, go to Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sister Pie, beloved bakery in Detroit, to go on hiatus
