'Best Chefs America' Honors 17 From Louisville

The inaugural edition of Best Chefs America honored 17 Louisville chefs (the two mentioned in the Louisville Courier-Journal article on the award were just the ones who issued press releases about their inclusion). Congrats to all who made the 386-page coffee table book, which will be updated annually. Notable local omissions: Col. Sanders' corpse, Papa John Schnatter and Rusty the jerky seller (apologies to Rusty for being grouped with the other two).

Per Business First, the Louisville chefs honored are

· Bobby Benjamin, La Coop: Bistro à Vins
· Adam Burress, Hammerheads
· Kathy Cary, Lilly's
· S. Dean Corbett, Corbett's: An American Place
· Anthony Lamas, Seviche: A Latin Restaurant
· Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia
· Fernando Martinez, Guaca-Mole
· Coby Ming, Harvest
· Josh Moore, Volare
· Hiko Nakaniski, Hiko-A-mon
· Annie Pettry, Decca Restaurant
· Troy Schuster, 211 Clover Lane
· Michael Ton, Basa
· Bruce Ucan, Mayan Cafe
· John Varanese, Varanese
· Levon Wallace, Proof on Main
· Shawn Ward, Jack Fry's Restaurant

A quote from Lee also appears on the book's order page:

This is it: no nonsense, no fluff, nothing to sugarcoat. Just an honest, peer-reviewed catalogue of the chefs that are making a difference in this wonderful and vast landscape of American cuisine. These names will rewrite culinary history!

As for criteria for inclusion, according to the Best Chefs America website,

Our analysts speak to nominated chefs across the country by way of appointment and telephone interview. Chefs are asked a series of proprietary questions that score their peers on a numerical scale and identify veterans and up-and-coming talent. The process is calculated to accurately record the opinions of leading chefs about the talent of their colleagues both within the same geographical area and nationwide.

The book costs $75 and, no, is not produced by the same company that published Who's Who Among American High School Students.

[Photo: Courtesy Wikipedia]
·Edward Lee's MilkWood Set To Open In February At Actors Theatre [Eater Louisville]
·5 Questions with Chef Dean Corbett [Eater Louisville]