PROVIDENCE – And the “Oscar of Food” goes to … Charlestown Chef Sherry Pocknett.
Pocknett, of Sly Fox Den Too in Charlestown, won the 2023 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Northeast on Monday night in Chicago.
Pockenett is the first indigenous woman to win a Beard award. She was named a finalist for the Northeast Region on March 29, along with Robert Andreozzi of Pizza Marvin in Providence and Milena Pagán of Little Sister in Providence.
The James Beard Awards, considered the “Oscars of Food,” are bestowed from the James Beard Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to celebrate, support and elevate the people behind America’s food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity and sustainability.
Pocknett, a Wampanoag chef/owner, has been serving authentic Native American cuisine at the eatery at 4349 South County Trail in Charlestown since 2021. The menu has been celebrated for its creative presentation and promotion of local Native American food traditions.
The last Rhode Island winners for Best Chef: Northeast was in 1993, when husband and wife George Germon and Johanne Killeen, chef-owners of Al Forno, took the honor.
Congrats, Sherry! Well done!