CHICAGO (AP) – Chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav in Philadelphia took home the outstanding chef award and Rick Bayless’ Topolobampo in Chicago won outstanding restaurant at the James Beard Awards .
The awards ceremony was Monday night at Chicago’s Lyric Opera. It is considered by many to be the Oscars of the culinary world.
Topolobampo features high-end Mexican cuisine. Bayless said he wanted to “bring some of the heart and soul” the people of Mexico have shared with him to the U.S.
Zahav offers modern Israeli cuisine, and Solomonov is from Israel but was raised in Pittsburgh. He said he’s “incredibly lucky that my work is my life’s work.”
The Beard Awards were based in New York. This is their third year in Chicago, where they moved in 2015 and will be through 2021.