Food & Wine Announces Best New Chefs 2013

This morning Food & Wine magazine announced its 2013 class of Best New Chefs (editor in chief Dana Cowin tweeted hints all day yesterday). The Best New Chef nod is one of the most coveted distinctions in the food business. Last year's winners included Corey Lee of Benu in San Francisco and Rich Torrisi & Mario Carbone of Torrisi Italian Specialties in NYC; past BNCs include Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, David Bouley, Nobu Matsuhisa, David Chang, April Bloomfield, and many, many others. This year's chefs are:

2013 Food & Wine Best New Chefs

· Jamie Malone, Sea Change, Minneapolis, Minnesota
· Jason Vincent, Nightwood, Chicago
· Michael Voltaggio, Ink, Los Angeles
· Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese, New York City
· Matthew Gaudet, West Bridge, Cambridge, Mass.
· José Enrique, José Enrique, San Juan, Puerto Rico
· Chris Shepherd, Underbelly, Houston
· Justin Cogley, Aubergine, Carmel, California
· Andy Ticer & Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis
· Alex Stupak, Empellon and Empellon Cocina, New York City

Here's the press release:

FOOD & WINE ANNOUNCES 2013 BEST NEW CHEFS IN AMERICA

—Celebrating 25 Years of Discovering Up-and-Coming Culinary Talent—

New York, NY (April 2, 2013) – Dana Cowin, editor in chief of FOOD & WINE, will reveal the winners of the 25th annual FOOD & WINE Best New Chefs award tonight during a celebration at Pranna in New York City. For the first time ever, FOOD & WINE broadened its search to consider chefs in Puerto Rico—and found a winner. The 2013 honorees will be featured in the July issue of FOOD & WINE and will also attend the 31st annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen from June 14-16.

Several FOOD & WINE Best New Chefs alumni will prepare signature dishes at this evening's event including Michael Symon of Lola ('98); Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 and the new Alder ('01); Grant Achatz of Alinea ('02); Scott Conant of Scarpetta Restaurants ('04); April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig ('07); and Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen ('12). BRAVO's Top Chef Season 9 winner Paul Qui will join the BNC alumni in preparing a dish for the night.

"I am thrilled to announce this year's Best New Chefs," Cowin says. "With a 25-year perspective on the awards, it's clear that these talented cooks have a brilliant future ahead of them. I can't wait to see where they'll go and what they'll cook."

Over the past 25 years this prestigious award has recognized stars early in their careers, like Daniel Boulud ('88), Tom Colicchio ('91), and David Chang ('06). Their unique culinary visions embody what it means to be a FOOD & WINE
Best New Chef.

FOOD & WINE's editors choose the Best New Chefs after a months-long selection process. The editors solicit nominations from restaurant critics, food writers and other trusted experts around the country, then travel incognito to taste the food themselves. Chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen for five years or fewer are eligible.

2013 F&W Best New Chefs
Danny Bowien Mission Chinese Food New York, NY
Justin Cogley Aubergine Carmel, CA
José Enrique José Enrique San Juan, PR
Matthew Gaudet West Bridge Boston, MA
Jamie Malone Sea Change Minneapolis, MN
Chris Shepherd Underbelly Houston, TX
Alex Stupak Empellón Cocina New York, NY
Andy Ticer & Michael Hudman Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen Memphis, TN
Jason Vincent Nightwood Chicago, IL
Michael Voltaggio Ink Los Angeles, CA


The evening's sponsors are Gallo Winery, All-Clad, Bombay Sapphire, Delta Airlines, Fiji, Godiva, Lexus and Stella Artois. To go behind the scenes at the party, follow @fandw on Twitter, @foodandwinemag on Instagram and join the conversation with #BNC25.

For more information on the winners go to www.foodandwine.com/best_new_chefs or download the FOOD & WINE Best New Chefs iPhone application on iTunes.

· 2013 Best New Chefs [F&W]
· All Awards Season Coverage on Eater [-E-]