Meet the 2018 James Beard Rising Star Chef Of The Year nominees

The James Beard Awards return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, May 7^th and will recognize and celebrate the who’s who of chefs, bakers, restaurateurs and mixologists nationwide. The theme of this year’s awards is RISE, and will acknowledge the collective spirit of the culinary community and the power of food. Whether championing causes, committing to values, speaking up for those who can’t be heard, or cooking their hearts out, the food community rises to meet the challenges, to complete the tasks and to make this world a better, more delicious place for everyone.

S.Pellegrino® has a longstanding history of supporting the culinary industry and particularly the James Beard Foundation. As the presenting sponsor of the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, we celebrate this unique segment of the chef community – the next-generation of great chefs and future luminaries.  To be eligible for this award, contending chefs must be age 30 or younger and display an impressive talent, likely to make a significant impact on the industry for years to come. 

Once again S.Pellegrino traversed the country to get to know the impressive Rising Star Chef nominees and discovered more about who influenced and helped them RISE to their current career success.  Below, we’ve captured these conversations from this wildly talented, insightful and surprisingly quirky group.

Camille Cogswell, Zahav in Philadelphia

Clare de Boer, King in NYC

Sarah Rinkavage, Marisol in Chicago

Miles Thompson, Michael’s in Santa Monica, CA

Kevin Tien, Himitsu in Washington DC