The James Beard Foundation announced the recipients of the 2013 Restaurant and Chef Awards on Monday night. Raleigh鈥檚 Ashley Christensen of was in the running for Best Chef in the Southeast, but the final award for that category went to Joseph Lenn of in Walland, Tennessee. Christensen was North Carolina鈥檚 (finalist) this year, out of 13 semi-finalists in the state. Hear her interview with 瓜神app's State of Things.
Other overall winners included San Francisco's State Bird Provisions for Best New Restaurant and New York City鈥檚 Blue Hill for Outstanding Restaurant. David Chang of NYC鈥檚 Momofuku Noodle Bar and Paul Kahan of Blackbird in Chicago tied for Best Chef. See a complete list of award recipients .
The James Beard Awards are considered the highest honors given in the food industry, and Christensen was the fourth chef in the state to ever receive a nomination in the Restaurant and Chef category. The others are Ben and Karen Barker of the late Magnolia Grill and of Lantern. All three previous nominees proceeded to win a James Beard Award.
