The Eater Young Guns Class of 2013 REVEALED

Grid View

• Shion Aikawa, Director of Operations, Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Austin, TX. [Photo: Andrea Grimes/EATX]
• Mike Brown, chef and co-owner of Travail/Pig Ate My Pizza in Robbinsdale, MN [Photo provided by Mike Brown]
• Alyssa DiPasquale, General Manager and Sake Professional at O Ya in Boston.
• Jeremy Hoffman, Chef de Cuisine at Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, VA. [Photo courtesy Restaurant Eve]
• Ryan Lachaine, sous chef at Underbelly in Houston [Photo by Gary R. Wise]
• Matt Lackey, Executive Chef at Flyte in Nashville [Photo courtesy of Flyte]
• Jessica Largey, Chef de Cuisine at Manresa in Los Gatos, CA. [Photo courtesy Manresa]
• Mitch Lienhard, Sous Chef at Grace in Chicago. [Photo courtesy Grace]
• Jayce McConnell, Bar Program Manager at Snackbar in Oxford, MS. [Photo provided by Jayce McConnell]
• Brooks Reitz, General Manager of The Ordinary in Charleston, SC. [Photo by Rémy Thurston]
• Alissa Rozos, Pastry Chef at St. Jack in Portland, OR. [Photo by Dina Avila]
• Hourie Sahakian, Pastry Chef at Short Cake in Los Angeles [Photo by Elizabath Daniels]
• Mark Schieber, cook and kitchen manager at Forequarter in Madison, WI. [Photo by Emily Julka]
• Henri Schock, Owner of Bottlehouse in Seattle. [Photo courtesy Bottlehouse]
• Jason Wang, President of Xi'an Famous Foods in New York. [Photo by Daniel Krieger]

Ladies and gentleman, it is time. We are pleased to announce the Eater Young Guns Class of 2013, a group of 15 of the most distinguished young chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and hospitality industry professionals in the country. These are the junior statesmen of the culinary world who have most distinguished themselves this year, and who are its next stars. Over the past two months, you've met many of them, and you'll meet the rest this week.

The class of 15 is comprised of four women and 11 men; seven chefs, three beverage pros, two pastry chefs, and three front-of-house leaders. The youngest on the list just turned 25 (Jayce McConnell). The oldest, with just four years in the business, is 38 (Ryan Lachaine). They represent myriad styles and 15 cities: Austin, Boston, Alexandria, Houston, Nashville, Chicago, Charleston, Oxford, Madison, Seattle, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, and the areas outside San Francisco and Minneapolis.

The Eater Young Guns Class of 2013 will be celebrated at a gala event in Los Angeles on Monday, June 24. Young Guns Eve, a public tasting event featuring many of the winning chefs, goes down the night before on June 23. Tickets are still available.

Without further ado, they are:

Shion Aikawa, 27

What he does: Director of Operations, Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Austin, TX

Mike Brown, 28

What he does: Chef/Co-owner, Travail and Pig Ate My Pizza, Robbinsdale, MN

Alyssa DiPasquale, 29

What she does: Manager and Advanced Sake Professional, O Ya, Boston, MA

Jeremy Hoffman, 29

What he does: Chef de Cuisine, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA

Ryan Lachaine, 38

What he does: Sous Chef, Underbelly, Houston, TX

Matt Lackey, 27

What he does: Executive Chef, Flyte World Dining and Wine, Nashville, TN

Jessica Largey, 27

What she does: Chef de Cuisine, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA

Mitch Lienhard, 26

What he does: Sous Chef, Grace, Chicago, IL

Jayce McConnell, 25

What he does: Bar Program Manager, Snackbar, Oxford, MS

Brooks Reitz, 29

What he does: General Manager, The Ordinary, Charleston, SC

Alissa Rozos, 29

What she does: Pastry Chef, St. Jack, Portland, OR

Hourie Sahakian, 25

What she does: Pastry Chef, Short Cake, Los Angeles, CA

Mark Schieber, 26

What he does: Cook and Kitchen Manager, Forequarter, Madison, WI

Henri Schock, 29

What he does: Proprietor and Wine Director, Bottlehouse, Seattle, WA

Jason Wang, 25

What he does: President, Xi'an Famous Foods, New York, NY

Each Eater Young Gun made it through three rounds of selections, beginning with a public call for nominations in February, which yielded over 2,700 nominations; then a vetting by Eater editors and the official selection committee comprised of some of the most well respected chefs and restaurateurs in the country to reduce the group to 50 semi-finalists; and finally, a second round of voting by the editorial staff to select the final class of 15.

Each Young Gun class member receives an official winner's patch, a limited edition bottle of champagne and a lifetime of bragging rights. Members of the public can sample the food of many of these stars at the first ever Young Guns Eve in Los Angeles (buy tickets here) this coming Sunday night before they're all feted on Monday, June 24 at a star-studded industry event.

Young Guns, we salute you.

· All Young Guns 2013 Coverage [~E~]