We
are proud to present this year’s exceptionally talented class of Best
New Chefs. These cooks hail from all around the country—from New York
City to Memphis, Tennessee.
Chefs
A16 and SPQR, San Francisco
A16: Menu | Reservations | Website
SPQR: Menu | Reservations Not Accepted | Website
Nate Appleman has cooked in Italy but credits his Greenville, Ohio,
childhood for his initial interest in cooking: “There were whole
weekends when no one could go outside because we had three feet of
snow. I watched Julia Child and The Frugal Gourmet all day long.“ He’s been fixated on becoming a Best New Chef since picking up a copy of Food & Wine’s July 1998 issue.
We loved: Berkshire pork shoulder roast and porchetta with lemon and wild arugula (A16); spaghetti amatriciana with guanciale, tomatoes, red onion, chile and pecorino (SPQR).
More about Nate Appleman »
Reef, Houston
Menu | Reservations | Website
Bryan Caswell doesn’t sauté any fish at Reef; instead, he sears it on a custom-made griddle inspired by the planchas
he used while working in Barcelona. “I don’t need a guy washing 9,000
sauté pans,” he says. The Jean-Georges Vongerichten protégé imagines
one day opening a 2,000-square-foot oyster bar.
We loved: Crispy-skinned snapper with sweet-and-sour chard and tomato brown butter; grilled amberjack with plantain and long bean sauté.
More about Bryan Caswell »
Animal, Los Angeles
Menu | Reservations | Website
Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook met during the first day of cooking
school at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. But they learned even
more from obsessively eating out. “When we were 22, 23, we went to see
our accountant, and he told us we’d spent $150,000 that year on
dining,” Shook says.
We loved: Quail fry with slab bacon, chard and maple jus.
More about Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook »
Restaurant Iris, Memphis
Website
Kelly English’s father, a lawyer, had a surprising reaction when his
son told him he’d rather go to culinary school than law school: He was
delighted. The pair celebrated at New Orleans’s August, where English
would later cook with John Besh, now his mentor.
We loved: Sautéed veal sweetbreads with pork belly.
More about Kelly English »
Spring Hill, Seattle
Menu | Reservations | Website
Seattle-born Mark Fuller spent seven years working under star chef
Tom Douglas before branching out on his own with Spring Hill. Fuller’s
lifelong passion for noodles started with the saimin (similar
to ramen) he ate while growing up in Hawaii. Now he has an enormous
following for his Monday night spaghetti-and-meatball dinners, and his
favorite YouTube clips are on how to make hand-pulled noodles.
We loved: Olive-oil-poached albacore tuna with smoked king clam panzanella, arugula and avocado.
More about Mark Fuller »
Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch Public House, Atlanta
Restaurant Eugene: Menu | Reservations | Website
Holeman and Finch: Menu | Reservations Not Accepted | Website
When Linton Hopkins was a kid, his mom once refused to make him
hollandaise sauce for his eggs—so he prepared it himself, with a recipe
from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Hopkins still has the (egg-stained) cookbook, plus a vast collection of
others including Junior League and community cookbooks.
We loved: Chicken livers, soft grits, pickled
peaches (at Restaurant Eugene); the H&F burger, served only after
10 p.m. (at Holeman and Finch Public House).
More about Linton Hopkins »
Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
Menu | Reservations | Website
Chris Kostow has cooked under three former F&W Best New Chefs: Trey Foshee, Daniel Patterson and Daniel Humm.
He got his start cooking in high school, when he had a summer job at a
restaurant. He’d fry chicken all day, starting at 9 a.m., while
listening to the same Beastie Boys album over and over. Among his
favorite perks of cooking at Meadowood: “I have a great garden and a
beautiful dining room.”
We loved: Bolinas goat poached in whey with wheatgrass, sea salt and olive oil.
More about Chris Kostow »
Corton, New York City
Menu | Reservations | Website
Born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and raised in London, Paul Liebrandt has
worked at an impressive number of Michelin-starred restaurants,
including Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. He has cooked for both British
aristocracy (Prince Andrew) and Hollywood royalty (George Clooney, Brad
Pitt, Matt Damon).
We loved: “From the Garden,” a mixture of more than two dozen vegetables and herbs; smoked pasta with Gouda and truffles.
More about Paul Liebrandt »
Hungry Mother, Boston
Menu | Reservations | Website
Using a grassroots campaign, Barry Maiden raised more than $10,000
(much of it through Pay Pal) to finance Hungry Mother. “We started with
friends and family, asking them to donate $5 to $500 to help offset the
costs, and the word spread. We got contributions from as far away as
California,” he says. All the donor’s names are now stenciled on a wall
at the restaurant.
We loved: Warm beef tongue canapé; fried green tomato, grilled homemade bacon and red remoulade sauce.
More about Barry Maiden »
Beast, Portland, OR
Menu | Reservations: 503.841.6968 | Website
Naomi Pomeroy taught herself how to cook using cookbooks, including a decades-old copy of The Joy of Cooking.
The onetime vegetarian eats meat now, but she’s choosy about where it
comes from: She picks the non-sustainably raised beef out of her
favorite pho noodle soup.
We loved: Charcuterie plate with foie gras bonbon; steak tartare and quail egg toast; chicken liver mousse with candied bacon.
More about Naomi Pomeroy »
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