Sidney Street Café chef Kevin Nashan (left) with Niche chef Gerard Craft at a Magnificent Missouri dinner.
In March, we reported that two St. Louis chefs — Sidney Street Café’s Kevin Nashan and Niche’s Gerard Craft — landed on the finalist list for the James Beard Foundation’s 2014 James Beard Awards in the Best Chef: Midwest category.
The annual awards recognize chefs and restaurants across the United States, and this year’s ceremony to announce the winners takes place on Mon., May 5, at 6pm in Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City.
Feast publisher Cat Neville will be in attendance and live tweeting throughout the evening. Follow Cat on Twitter at @cat_neville and Feast at @feastmag for the latest from the ceremony!
Nashan and Craft are among six chefs nominated in the Best Chef: Midwest category:
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
Justin Aprahamian, Sanford, Milwaukee
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Gerard Craft, Niche, Clayton, MO
Michelle Gayer, Salty Tart, Minneapolis
Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Café, St. Louis
Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, MN
We caught up with Nashan back in March when he first received the news, and he told us: “What a day …. All I can say besides ‘floored’ is grateful and proud of my team at Sidney Street Cafe.” Asked about what this meant for the St. Louis food scene as a whole and the increased national attention, Nashan said, “Well, those drums are just beating a little louder today.”
Craft told Feast that, “It is a pretty amazing feeling to be nominated, especially when there are so many amazing people on the list.”
“St. Louis has been pushing for a while now and like anything great it takes time to see the results. I think everything that everyone has planted is just starting to break through the soil,” Craft said.
About The Author
