Weeks after his James Beard Best Chef: Southwest nomination, Underbelly chef Chris Shepherd has yet another accolade to add to his long list of recognitions. The Houston chef has been nominated as one of the ten “Best New Chefs in America” by Food & Wine magazine.
Over the past decade, Texas chefs have been prominent in the magazine’s prestigious list–David Bull of Congress was honored in 2003; Tyson Cole of Uchi was recognized in 2005; Bryan Caswell of Reef received the recognition in 2009; and Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine was a recipient in 2011. National personalities like David Chang, Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Tom Colicchio have also received the award as well.
Food & Wine editors selected their top ten after soliciting nominations from food critics and culinary experts across the country, and then traveling to different cities to make their final choices.
The other nine honorees are Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food in New York City; Justin Cogley of Aubergine in Carmel, California; José Enrique of José Enrique in San Juan, Puerto Rice; Matthew Gaudet of West Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts; Jamie Malone of Sea Change in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Alex Stupak of Empellón Cocina in New York City; Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen in Memphis, Tennessee; Jason Vincent of Nightwood in Chicago, Illinois; and Michael Voltaggio of Ink in Los Angeles, California.
Shepherd and his fellow nominees will be featured in the July issue of the magazine.
“I am thrilled to announce this year’s Best New Chefs,” Dana Cowin, editor in chief of Food & Wine, said. “With a twenty-five year perspective on the awards, it’s clear that these talented cooks have a brilliant future ahead of them. I can’t wait to see where they’ll go and what they’ll cook.”
