Summer began with a big week in hospitality here in Rhode Island, as the the “Oscars of the food world,” the James Beard Foundation Awards, were handed out on June 16 in Chicago.
It has almost come to be expected that we have a winner from Rhode Island. And so it was, as the Best Chef Northeast award went to Providence chef Sky Haneul Kim, executive chef of Gift Horse, which is owned by James Beard nominee Ben Sukle, who is also the proprietor of Oberlin, itself a past Beard nominee. Kim has also been nominated in the past.
The James Beard Awards are a platform by which restaurants are judged by diners, food writers and their peers from restaurants around the country. The awards have become very prestigious. In fact, a food writer for the Eater online publication said the Beard awards are more important than the famed Michelin Guide and its coveted stars.
Sukle was revealed to be one of five chefs who will team up in a unique collaborative dinner featuring fare both sourced from and inspired by New England as part of the Taste of New England, which is being planned by chef Sean Blomgren of Spruce Peak resort in Stowe, Vt. During his appearance at the recently held Burlington Wine and Food Festival in Burlington, Vt., Blomgren spoke about his Taste of New England event.
“This will be our sixth year,” he said. “It’s a really great opportunity to showcase the amazing culinary talent we have all around New England and bring them up to our beautiful property at the base of Stowe Mountain resort.”
[caption id="attachment_499255" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
GIFTED CHEF: Ben Sukle, the owner of Gift Horse and proprietor of Oberlin restaurants, both in Providence, is a past James Beard Foundation Award nominee and will be featured as one of five chefs who will team up for a unique collaborative dinner as part of the Taste of New England in Stowe, Vt., in August.
PBN FILE PHOTO/MATTHEW MCNULTY[/caption]
Sukle will join chefs from Dover, N.H.; Boston; Portland, Maine; and Bridgeport, Conn., to turn out a five-course feast, with sommeliers curating expert wine pairings for each course.
Blomgren said it was a happy coincidence that Sukle had been signed this year.
“I’ve been trying to hunt him down for a few years, but we’re excited to get him on board for this year’s festival,” he said.
Working with such high-level talent is challenging for a director, like the conductor of an orchestra with a virtuoso soloist.
“It’s a really collaborative effort,” Blomgren said. “I try to put them in a position where you know they can be their most creative. So, we go back and forth. I have them all on an email thread, so everyone kind of sees what each other [is] doing.”
Appearing on the chef demo stage at the Burlington event was another culinary personality with Rhode Island connections. Chef Kevin Des Chenes, or “chef Kev D,” is the culinary director of the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival, which will be held in September.
“[We’re planning] vintners dinners and jazz brunches and national chefs,” he said. “There will be a lot of New England chefs, and Rhode Island specific.”
Des Chenes was also aware of the James Beard Awards connection and how Providence and Rhode Island have been lightning rods for culinary talent for the past several years.
“There’s a bunch [of award nominees and winners] here and we have some of them this year,” he said.
Already in the lineup for the September festival at Marble House is chef Basil Yu, chef and owner of Yagi Noodles in Newport, a 2024 semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast.
“The food scene in Rhode Island is bigger and better than it’s ever been,” said Des Chenes, who lives in Newport.
With Providence Restaurant Weeks beginning July 6, during which dozens of restaurants statewide will open their doors for two weeks of dining deals and specials for lunch and dinner, with some offering all-day prix fixe menus, signature cocktails and more, the spotlight is on Rhode Island’s restaurant rows this summer.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, is heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
