James Beard Awards Recognize Milwaukee Chefs, Restaurateurs

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Eat/Drink

Our fantastic dining scene in Milwaukee continues to be recognized nationally. Three local chefs have advanced to the final round of the esteemed James Beard Awards, in the best chef Midwest category: Karen Bell of Bavette La Boucherie (currently at 330 E. Menomonee St. and moving to 217 N. Broadway in April), Dane Baldwin of the Diplomat (815 E. Brady St.) and Gregory León of Amilinda (315 E. Wisconsin Ave.).

The annual awards are presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. Bell is a previous Beard Awards finalist. Baldwin has previously been a semifinalist. León is a first-time nominee.

Bell opened Bavette La Boucherie restaurant and butcher shop in 2013. The restaurant serves a daily changing menu of sandwiches, cheese and charcuterie and small plates.

Baldwin started his culinary career at Gil’s Cafe as a prep cook. He later worked at Bacchus, Harbor House and Mr. B’s, all owned by The Bartolotta Restaurants, and at Carnevor. He opened The Diplomat, which serves approachable American fare in a sharable plate format, in 2017.

León’s travels provided inspiration for Amilinda’s Spanish-Portuguese menu. Amilinda began in 2013 with a pop-up dinner format. He opened the brick-and-mortar location on Wisconsin Avenue in 2015.

More Favorable Nods

Several Milwaukee-area chefs and restaurants got nods in the semifinalists round in February, including Kyle Knall of Birch (Outstanding Chef), and Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite of EsterEv, the tasting menu restaurant inside DanDan, their Chinese American restaurant (Best Chef: Midwest).

Milwaukee’s Odd Duck (Outstanding Restaurant), Sanford (Outstanding Hospitality), Goodkind (Outstanding Bar Program) and the Black Shoe Hospitality (Outstanding Restauranteur) were also semifinalists.

Earlier this year, Solly’s Grille in Milwaukee was named one of six recipients to receive the James Beard Foundation's America's Classics Award for their butter burger.

Elsewhere is Wisconsin, Nicolas Blouin, executive pastry chef at Destination Kohler, in Kohler, Wis.; Daniel Bonanno of Pig in a Fur Coat, in Madison, Wis.; and Mary Kastman of Driftless Café, the Viroqua, Wis. restaurant owned by Wisconsin Foodie host Luke Zahm, were semifinalists. (Zahm was a James Beard semifinalist in 2017.) L’Etoile, in Madison, was a semifinalist for outstanding wine program.

Minneapolis restaurateurs with Wisconsin roots are also representing the Midwest in the final rounds. Yia Vang, from Port Edwards, Wisconsin, now owns Union Kitchen in Minneapolis. Vang has held pop-ups in Milwaukee. Jorge Guzmán, chef-owner of Petite Leon, in Minneapolis, worked in La Crosse and has cooked at collaborative dinners in Milwaukee. Sean Sherman, co-owner of Owamni, an indigenous restaurant in Minneapolis, also made the finals. Sherman was born in Pine Ridge, S.D., and focuses on the revitalization and awareness of indigenous foods systems in a modern culinary context.

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony—which was on hiatus for two years during the pandemic—June 13 in Chicago.

For more information, visit jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2022-james-beard-awards-nominees.