Congratulations to James Beard Foundation Awards Finalists: Highlands Bar and Grill and Pastry Chef Dolester Miles!
By Ross McCay
Highlands has been a Finalist for the Outstanding Restaurant Award for nine consecutive years.
Outstanding Restaurant Finalists 2017:
A restaurant in the United States that serves as a national standard bearer of consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere and service. Eligible restaurants must have been in operation 10 or more consecutive years.
James Beard Foundation Award Restaurant Finalists 2017: Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO; Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL; Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC; Quince, San Francisco; The Spotted Pig, NYC; Topolobampo, Chicago.
Miles has been a Finalist for the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Pastry Chef for two consecutive years. And she has been a Semi-Finalist the past four years.
Outstanding Pastry Chef Finalists 2017A chef or baker who prepares desserts, pastries or breads in a restaurant, and who serves as a national standardbearer of excellence. Finalists must have been a pastry chef or baker for the past five years. 2017 Finalists: Kelly Fields, Willa Jean, New Orleans; Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, MA; Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles; Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL; Ghaya Oliveira, Daniel, NYC;
The chef and restaurant award winners will be announced in a gala event on Monday, May 1 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Read Highlands Bar and Grill Accolades
James Beard culinary arts organization was established in 1986 in honor of James Beard, a cookbook author, television personality, and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food. Beard was a champion of American cuisine and is widely considered “the dean of American cookery.” He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts, instilling in them the value of wholesome, healthful, seasonal, and delicious food.
Today JBF continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include food industry awards, scholarships and grants for culinary students, publications,chef advocacy training, and thought-leader convening. The Foundation also maintains the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for America’s best chefs.