Houston chef won’t be city’s last James Beard Award winner

Houston was a bit of a laggard at this year’s James Beard Awards. Emmanuel Chavezchef-owner of Spring Branch restaurant Tatemodid not win the Best Chef: Texas award during the ceremony organized on Monday, June 10.

The prize was awarded to Ana Liz Pulido of Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, Texas. Located in the Rio Grande Valley, Pulido has been widely acclaimed for its tacos and other dishes made with nixtamalized corn, precision-made salsas, and carefully prepared meats and other toppings. In a 2022 review, Texas Monthly taco editor José Ralat greeted the restaurant is “worth the pilgrimage for taco lovers.”

As for Chávez, he still has two-time Beard Award finalist status, having been nominated in the Emerging chef category in 2023. He has gained considerable national attention for his restaurant, which serves a tasting menu built around dishes made with nixtamalized heirloom corn. In 2022, Squire named it one of the best new restaurants in America, and last year Gastronomy and wine selected Chavez as one of its Top New Chefs – the first time a Houston chef earned this recognition since 2014. Tatemó won Restaurant of the Year in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards 2024.

Considered the Oscars of the food world, these awards recognize chefs and other culinary professionals in a wide range of categories from Outstanding Chef to Best New Restaurant. Winners are selected by the foundation’s awards committee, made up of members of the media, past winners and others. See the full list of winners here.

If Chávez had won, it would have meant three years in a row that a Houstonian returned from Chicago with a medal. Last year, Benchawan Jabthong Painter won the award for his work at Street to Kitchen and southern-inspired cocktail bar Julep won Outstanding Bar Program in 2022. Other Houston chefs who have won James Beard Awards include Robert Del Grande, Chris Berger, Justin YuAnd Hugo Ortega.

Overall, it was a tough night for Texas chefs and restaurants, with Pulido being the only winner from the state. None of the nominees in the national categories won any awards. They were:

• Best new restaurant: Barbs-BQ, Lockhart
• Exceptional bar: Las Ramblas (Brownsville)
• Exceptional Hospitality: Gemma (Dallas)
• Exceptional restaurant: Mixtli (San Antonio)
• Exceptional restaurant: West Convenience (Marfa)
• Exceptional chef: David Uygur, Lucia (Dallas)

Besides Chavez and Pulido, three other chefs were nominated for Best Chef: Texas:

• Christopher Cullum, Attaboy of Cullum (San Antonio)
• Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, Birdie’s (Austin)
• Misti Norris, Petra and the Beast (Dallas)

Here’s a closer look at the other Texas chefs nominated:

At Cullum’s Attaboy in San Antonio, Chef Cullum serves a French-influenced breakfast and lunch menu. The restaurant’s fast-casual format belies the gourmet aspects of its cuisine, which includes a burger topped with demi-glace, classic escargots, and rolled omelets topped with freshly shaved truffles. Cullum, who began his career washing dinners at his father’s River Walk jazz club, was nominated for Chef of the Year in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards 2024.

At Birdie’s in Austin, Chef Malechek-Ezekiel serves an ever-changing menu based on proteins and seasonal produce. The restaurant combines a fast-casual business model with a level of fine dining, attention to detail and a complete wine list. It has garnered a lot of national attention, including being named Best New Restaurant by both Squire And Enjoy your food as well as Restaurant of the Year 2023 by Gastronomy and wine and one of Austin’s 25 Best Restaurants by the New York Times. She won the title of Chef of the Year at CultureMap Tastemaker Awards 2024.

At Petra & the Beast in Dallas, Chef Norris serves a menu crafted from locally sourced ingredients, including meats cut on site, an extensive charcuterie program and numerous fermented items. It has gained widespread national recognition, including recognition for Best New Restaurant of both Gastronomy and wine And Texas Monthly and a Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 2019. Norris won Chef of the Year in the CulturMap Tastemaker Awards 2019and Petra & the Beast won Restaurant of the Year at the 2024 Tastemaker Awards.

The awards were presented to the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The foundation also presented media awards on Saturday June 8.

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Full disclosure:Eric Sandler, editor-in-chief of CultureMap Houston, is a James Beard Awards voter. Brandon Watson, Teresa Gubbins and Amber Heckler contributed to this story.