Although it won't be televised like the Oscars or the Grammys, the cooking equivalent takes place tonight at the Lincoln Center in New York City where the James Beard Awards are announced.
The only chef from Kansas City to make the finals is Colby Garrelts from Bluestem, who's nominated for the "Best Chef Midwest" category. He's been nominated three years in a row, now. Last time I talked to Garrelts, he said he wasn't worried, because he and Megan, his wife and pastry chef, "know the drill."
Garrelts won't be the only chef from Kansas City at the event, though. This year's theme is Women in Food and after the awards are announced, there's a gala featuring food by "America's greatest female chefs" including The American Restaurant's Debbie Gold.
Gold is one of 20 female chefs with special dishes for the star-studded party.
Guests expected to be on hand include Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain and actor Stanley Tucci, who plays Julia Child's husband in Julie & Julia.
I ran into Gold last week as she was previewing the dish she's serving tonight: cured bone marrow on mustard croutons with parsley and
ramps. Don't let the long name fool, it's essentially a crouton with
a slice of meat on top. "They told me I'd have to serve a thousand and,
oh, there is no refrigeration on site, so I hope it's good," Gold said
as she served them.
Yes, it was quite good. My companion wondered: "Would it be an
insult if I told her it's one of the better croutons I've had?" I didn't know so we both stayed quiet. But I'm
loudly cheering for Garrelts tonight. Between Gold's croutons and a
Bluestem victory, Kansas City could be on many people's lips by the end
of the night.
The awards aren't televised, but if you can't wait for the Fat City recap tomorrow, the James Beard Foundation will be live-blogging at its Web site.
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