- Grand Chefs Gala/Twitter
To no one’s surprise Grace, by near universal acclaim the finest fine-dining restaurant to open here in years, dominated the Jean Banchet Awards on Friday night—slightly awkwardly, since the master of ceremonies was Grace’s own general manager, Michael Muser. Hey, it’s a small world, but considering that the nominations are made by the general public and the winners voted on by their peers, no one doubts Grace’s triumph. Grace won five awards, including Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year (Curtis Duffy), Best Chef de Cuisine (Nicholas Romero), Best Restaurant Service, and Best Sommelier (Valerie Cao). The annual benefit dinner for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is named for chef Jean Banchet, who died in December.
Chef of the Year: Curtis Duffy, Grace
Abraham Conlon of Fat Rice cooked pig uterus the right way and the wrong way (his description) in this Key Ingredient episode from April 2013:
Pastry Chef of the Year: Leigh Omilinsky, Cafe des Architectes
Best Mixologist: Paul McGee, Three Dots and a Dash
