Two St. Louis chefs are finalists in the in the category of Best Chef: Midwest. Kevin Nashan, chef-owner of and , and Kevin Willmann, chef-owner of , proceed to the final round before the winner is announced May 2 at the .
On Tuesday鈥檚 鈥淪t. Louis on the Air鈥� , Nashan said he was 鈥渏ust grateful to be on the bus.鈥�
鈥淎nd I鈥檝e got a partner on the bus on the way to Chicago: it is going to get rowdy,鈥� he continued, mentioning Willmann.
Willmann said that he hopes people recognize that when their names go up for these nominations, it is not just the chef behind the nomination.
鈥淚t means a lot for my staff,鈥� Willmann said. 鈥淚t is important to focus on how many of us it takes to pull something off.鈥�
The St. Louis area had a total of for various awards, including Mike Randolph of P煤blico and Ben Poremba of Elaia for Best Chef: Midwest, as well as Eric Heath of Cleveland Heath in Edwardsville for Best Chef: Great Lakes. P煤blico was also a semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant. Side Project Cellar was a semi-finalist for Outstanding Bar Program. Stone Soup Cottage in Cottleville, Mo. was nominated for Outstanding Service. They did not proceed to final round.
To have two chefs from St. Louis in the finalist round for Best Chef: Midwest is a big deal, said Catherine Klene,鈥檚 managing editor.
"There's so much talent in this town, this is not a fly-by city anymore," said Nashan.
Willmann said that this recognition comes after years of hard work.
鈥淎bout 12 or 13 years ago, when Kevin took over Sidney Street and I started kicking over in Edwardsville and then Gerard Craft on Sidney with Niche, we decided to set out to do something a little different and to push ourselves harder than we鈥檇 seen others push,鈥� Willmann said. 鈥淚 think that what we鈥檙e seeing now is the culmination of that effort and all the wonderful people who have contributed along the way. The scene has exploded. Not to be braggadocios, but the three of us sat down and decided to push ourselves harder and we鈥檙e starting to see some of that.鈥�
Gerard Craft, notably, became the first chef from St. Louis to win the James Beard Foundation鈥檚 award for 鈥淏est Chef: Midwest鈥� last year. Earlier in 2016, about the change in the restaurant scene in St. Louis:
"I love this town and I love my buddies. It is a great time to be in St. Louis."
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing when I bring other chefs to St. Louis and they see everything that鈥檚 going on,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou look at all the chefs in our group and then at guys like Kevin Nashan, who have Sidney Street and his new Peacemaker, or Mike Randolph who has P煤blico, or Kevin Willmann with Farmhaus or Mike Emerson with Pappy鈥檚 or Ricky with The Southern鈥here鈥檚 all these guys doing their own thing. Everybody鈥檚 doing something a little bit different. It鈥檚 fun. It鈥檚 exciting. It is one of the most exciting times to be in St. Louis. People are starting to take notice.鈥�
Nashan concurs, wholeheartedly: "I love this town and I love my buddies. It is a great time to be in St. Louis. This isn't it. There's more to come."
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