Friday, February 22, 2008

Steve Oakley and Dave Tallent Make James Beard List

Ahh, spring, when the weather turns warm and the long list of nominated chefs heads out to James Beard Award judges who name the best chefs, restaurants, and restaurateurs in the US. Here at home, chefs Steven Oakley (Oakleys Bistro) and Dave Tallent (Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington) are on this year's "long list" of chefs nominated in the Great Lakes region. (The region also includes Chicago chefs, so it's a tough class.) Oakley has been nominated several times in the past for the James Beard Best Rising Chef award.

Thanks to Bloomington food maven Christine Barbour for the pointer. From Christine, here's what happens to make the short list:

The next step in the awards process is that this list, which has been winnowed down by committee from a broader list of nominees, is submitted to the Beard judges, most of whom do not live or even dine in Indiana. Since judges can only vote for chefs in whose restaurants they have eaten and we are in the Great Lakes category with Chicago, well, you can figure out that the rules aren’t exactly stacked in Indiana’s favor.


Full list of nominees from across the US from NY Magazine.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have always liked Steve's food, and he has always been such a great ambassador for indianapolis' dining scene...it's great to see him get nominated again.

Dave Tallent? What a no-brainer. His food is so damn good, that I dream about it and wake with a wet mouth. Congrats to you lads! (Raises Glass).

Anonymous said...

I second Neal's astute comment(s). I predict that IN will have at least twice the nominees in 2009.