Milwaukee chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite advance in Beard Awards
Among 12 Wisconsin James Beard nominees, the chefs at Milwaukee's EsterEv have moved on to the nominee round. Winners will be announced in June. Milwaukee chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite are co-nominated for Best Chef: Midwest for their restaurant EsterEv, set in Wisconsin. This category is the same category previously won by Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger for their Madison restaurant, Fairchild. Jacobs and Van Rite opened Esterev in 2016, a small fine dining concept that has been closed and moved to a larger space in Bay View this spring. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago on June 10.
Published : 2 months ago by lindsay christians, Lindsay Christians in Lifestyle
Among 12 Wisconsin nominees for the 2024 James Beard Awards, just one pair of chefs has moved on to the nominee round.
Dan Jacobs, seen on the current season of “Top Chef” set in Wisconsin, and his business partner Dan Van Rite are co-nominees for Best Chef: Midwest for their restaurant EsterEv.
This is the category that Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger won in 2023 for their Madison restaurant, Fairchild. Tory Miller and Odessa Piper are also previous winners, both for L’Etoile. Dane Baldwin, the Milwaukee chef and owner of The Diplomat, won this award in 2022.
Jacobs and Van Rite opened DanDan, a Chinese American restaurant in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, in 2016. Their small, fine dining concept, EsterEv, has operated like a pop-up inside this space.
The owners announced a few months ago that EsterEv would close in mid-February and move to a larger space in Bay View this spring. It has not yet reopened.
"No longer hidden in the back of DanDan, this rebirth also signifies a change in the menu format to make the tasting concept accessible to more people –– something the 'Dans' are very passionate about with rising food costs," a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story quoted Jacobs and Van Rite.
Also nominees for Best Chef: Midwest are two chefs from Minneapolis, Ann Ahmed from Khâluna and Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai. Rob Connoley received a nomination for Bulrush in St. Louis. Tim Nicholson is a nominee for The Boiler Room in Omaha.
The James Beard Awards are known colloquially as the Oscars of food. The foundation gives awards in several areas of focus – Restaurant and Chef, Journalism, Leadership, Book and Broadcast. Judges include James Beard Foundation board members and at-large members from the food and beverage, food media and related industries.
The Midwest region includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. (Chicago is part of the Great Lakes region.)
Winners of the James Beard Awards in the restaurant and chef categories will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago on June 10.
Topics: Food & Drink