Three Chicago chefs scored top honors Monday at the eighth annual James Beard Awards, considered the Oscars of the food and restaurant world, where outstanding chef honors were shared by Beverly Hills’ Wolfgang Puck and New York’s Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Sarah Stegner of The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton was named best Midwest chef, while Keith Luce of Spruce was named this year’s “rising star,” the designation for the best young chef in the nation. Stegner won the rising star award in 1994.
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The winner of the first Beard humanitarian award was Rick Bayless of the Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. Bayless was cited for establishing Chefs Collaborative 2000, a national group promoting sustainable agriculture.
In the electronic-media awards, Steve Dolinsky won the best local TV cooking show prize for his “Good Eating” segment on CLTV. He also won the award for best radio show on food for programs that aired on WBEZ-FM.
The awards are named for the late cookbook author and culinary consultant, considered the dean of American gastronomy.