It’s no secret that Nashville’s dining scene is getting better every year.
And now we’re gaining national notoriety. Each January, the James Beard Foundation—the foremost culinary organization—announces its roster of semi-finalists for their annual James Beard Awards. (Think the Oscars of cooking.) This year, it’s no surprise: Nashville represents.
Meet the local chefs up for the honors in May:
DANIELLE ATKINS
JULIO HERNANDEZ, EMERGING CHEF
Maiz de la Vida (maizdelavida.com)
Julio Hernandez’s story is yet another rooted in pandemic. It prompted him to research and make authentic tortillas using heirloom Mexican dried corn and a special process, “nixtamal- ization.” The single-origin kernels, ground and cooked in an alkaline solution, produce the best structured, most flavorful masa dough. One bite of his extraordinary Birria Beef, crispy tacos filled with rich American wagyu, dunked in bone marrow consommé, will make you a believer. This led to his creation of Maiz de la Vida (Corn of Life) in the forms of a food truck, a tortilla shop, and the soon-to-come restaurant in Paseo South. It took Hernandez a minute to believe that he’d received the honor from the foundation. But once it sank in, “I called to tell my mother. She didn’t really understand what this James Beard thing was. It didn’t matter. I had to call her first.”
COURTESY OF THE JOSEPH, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL, NASHVILLE
NOELLE MARCHETTI, OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF
Yolan (yolannashville.com)
Marchetti is versatile in her baking prowess, all of which bookends Yolan executive chef Tony Mantuano’s seasonally driven regional Italian cuisine perfectly. Her bread service, which includes gorgeous grissini twists and her signature focaccia, provides a comforting and scrumptious genesis to dinner service at The Joseph Hotel’s signature restaurant. Her desserts are dazzling sculptural works of art, comprised of complementary flavors in a variety of textures and shapes that make a memorable end to an extraordinary meal. Her nomination is a dream come true. “I’m honored to be among so many talented mentors, chefs, and colleagues,” says Marchetti. “Having the support of my family at Yolan and The Joseph, as well as the entire Nashville community, has been a heartwarming and rewarding experience. This is a true full-circle moment. I am eternally grateful to all those who have helped me along my pastry journey.”
CARL LARRIEU
CLINTON GRAY, EMANUEL REED, AND DERRICK MOORE, OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEURS
Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria (slimandhuskys.com)
Longtime friends and entrepreneurs Gray, Reed, and Moore started Slim & Husky’s Pizza in North Nashville’s Buchanan Arts District in March 2017, where it became an instant hit. In keeping with their slogan (and signature pie) P.R.E.A.M.: Pizza Rules Everything Around Me, they have been its guiding force ever since, bringing their homegrown flavors, community spirit, and hip-hop beat to ten locations, including Atlanta, Sacramento, Memphis, and our own 5th and Broad where they became the first Black-owned business on lower Broadway. “We created what we feel like is true Nashville-style pizza,” says Gray. “You can taste the Southern roots.”
ANDREW THOMAS LEE
TREVOR MORAN, BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST
Locust (locustnashville.com)
What a year it’s been for the Irish-born chef: his restaurant garnering Food and Wine’s Best Restaurant in America; a listing in New York Times’ 25 Best Dishes of 2022; and now the nod from the James Beard Foundation. Moran’s brilliance is not only in his razor-sharp focus on crafting and perfecting each dish on Locust’s concise, unpublished, of-the-moment menu. It’s his non-conventional approach to running the restaurant: dine-in only, by reservation only, tables of four or under only, lunch and dinner, Friday through Sunday only, no waitstaff—each dish served by one of his team of chefs. Locust opened with a sure Japanese leaning, making the most sublime dumplings and kakigori-shaved ice-desserts, but ultimately it is—and will be—whatever intrigues the chef. It could be exploring a classic sauce or dish in a new way. It could be preparing fish in a manner that harkens to his Dubliner youth. No matter the dish or cuisine, each offering has been imagined, tested, and meticulously executed to blow diners away.
ANDREW THOMAS LEE
JOSH HABIGER, BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST
Bastion (bastionnashville.com)
This is not Habiger’s first James Beard rodeo; he was a semi-finalist for Best Chef Southeast in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Without question, he has played a defining role in Nashville’s culinary trajectory: starting at The Patterson House in 2009, followed by The Catbird Seat, where he was one of the opening chefs in 2011, and afterwards, serving as Pinewood Social’s culinary director. But it is at Bastion (itself a semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant in 2017) that Habiger has come into his fullest, most personal expression as a chef and restaurateur: taking diners on a culinary adventure that is relaxed, welcoming, and indelibly delicious. “I recently celebrated 14 years of living in Nashville and have been thinking a lot about the evo- lution of the city since I moved here,” says Habiger. “Then, Margot, City House, and Arnold’s were the places to go. Now there are so many options—and more on the horizon. I’m excited to see that folks like Aaron Clemins (Bill’s Sandwich Parlor), Alex Burch (Bad Idea), Brian Lea and Leina Horii (Kisser), and Michael Hanna (St. Vitos Focacceria) are continuing to hit the scene, making the city more interesting. Not only are they each filling a void, they are doing something special as a whole.” “It’s amazing how supportive Nashville has been in letting Locust evolve,” Moran says. “I’m really grateful that we are in a city where that’s accepted, and I’m excited for what’s next. The lads and I are all looking forward to whatever the hell that may be.”