JBF in Houston

America's culinary Oscars will reveal food star finalists at VIP events in Houston

The James Beard Foundation is coming to Houston.

Courtesy photo

The James Beard Foundation is coming to Houston. The organization will announce the finalists for its annual awards, considered the Oscars of the culinary world, live from Hugo's in Montrose on Wednesday, March 27 at 9 am.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation, will co-host the press conference and corresponding breakfast, which will be streamed online via the Beard Foundation website. The awards will be presented in Chicago on Monday, May 6. The list of semifinalists will be revealed on Wednesday, February 27.

“We’re thrilled to showcase the city of Houston and bring our 2019 James Beard Awards nominees announcement to this diverse and vibrant culinary and dining scene,” Reichenbach said in a statement. “The city of Houston’s dedication to cultivating and embracing its local restaurants and culinary talent make it the perfect community for such an occasion.”

In addition to the awards announcement, an all-star roster of Houston's most talented chefs will unite for a special benefit dinner that will be held at Caracol the night before the press conference (March 26).

Hosted by Caracol owners Tracy Vaught and Hugo Ortega, the meal will feature entrees prepared by Ortega, Chris Shepherd, Justin Yu, and Robert Del Grande — all of whom have won the Beard award for Best Chef: Southwest. In addition, Bobby Heugel, a Beard nominee for Anvil Bar & Refuge, will serve cocktails, and Beard semifinalist nominees Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan (The Pass & Provisions) and Anita Jaisinghani (Pondicheri) will serve canapes with Beard winner Irma Galvan, whose downtown restaurant Irma's Original earned a James Beard America's Classic award in 2008, and Himalaya chef-owner Kaiser Lashkari — who hasn't been nominated for a Beard award yet but probably should be. Rounding out the roster is Sean Beck, beverage director for Ortega and Vaught's restaurants, and Ortega's brother Ruben, who will serve dessert. See the full menu here.

The event will benefit James Beard Foundation National Scholars Program, which provides "$20,000 scholarships to 10 candidates from across the U.S., who demonstrate the potential for leadership roles in culinary arts, food studies, agriculture, hospitality management, and related fields," according to the Beard Foundation website.

Needless to say, the dinner is a virtually unprecedented collection of Houston culinary talent that will sell out quickly. Tickets, priced at $200 per person plus tax and gratuity ($256), are available here.

“The City of Houston is honored to host the James Beard Foundation as it announces the 2019 James Beard Award nominees,” Turner added. “The Foundation has come to the ideal place. With one in every four Houstonians being foreign born, Houston takes pride in the rich culinary scene that comes with being one of most diverse cities in the nation.”

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Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”