JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION
Hawaii's George Mavrothalassitis was named best chef in the Northwest/Hawaii.
Chef Mavro
earns Beard honor
For the third time in a decade, an island chef has won the James Beard Foundation Award for best chef in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.
George Mavrothalassitis claimed the prestigious award in New York on Monday, joining previous winners chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong.
It was third nomination for Mavrothalassitis, who owns Chef Mavro in Honolulu.
"It's nice to realize what you do is recognized," he said. "In this job you always have doubts. I always doubt what I do. This gives me confirmation."
Fellow nominees were Clare Archibald, of Café Azul, and Vitaly Paley, of Paley's Place Bistro & Bar, both in Portland, Ore.; and Scott Carsberg, of Lampreia, and Eric Tanaka, of Dahlia Lounge, both in Seattle.
Winning the top award of outstanding chef was Eric Ripert, of Le Bernardin in New York. The outstanding restaurant award went to Zuni Café in San Francisco.
Winners are chosen by industry professionals and food journalists nationwide.
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