Culinary Art and Virtue at Banchet Awards Return
Erick Williams' foundation honored by Chicago Chefs Cook
Youths of Color Benefit from Awards Ceremony
The Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence, long known as Chicago’s local version of the James Beard Awards, returned Sunday night after a one-year hiatus, with new management — headed by Michael Muser, co-owner of the double Michelin-starred Ever restaurant in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood — and a new charitable purpose shaped by the team at the Chicago Chefs Cook non-profit.
Although I was unable to attend because of my recuperation from COVID [shakes fist at sky], I am happy to share below the list of the winners.
I am particularly pleased to report that the winner of the Chef of the Year Award is Paul Virant for his work as chef-owner of two restaurants in the western suburbs — Vie (Western Springs) and Vistro Prime (Hinsdale) — and his Japanese-themed Gaijin in Chicago’s West Loop. Paul is one of the leading chefs who built our region’s farm-to-table restaurant community.
Much as I love and respect the artistry embodied in the Jean Banchet Awards, Local Food Forum connects with the culinary community foremost because of the extraordinary generosity and civic mindedness of its members.
So my take will mainly focus on Chef Erick Williams’ Virtue Leadership Development Program, selected by the Chicago Chefs Cook team as the awards’ charitable beneficiary. The program is a professional incubator that equips local young adults of color with the necessary skills to learn value-driven entrepreneurship through training at Virtue, Williams’ flagship Southern cuisine restaurant in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
The awards, named for the late chef who brought French fine dining to the suburbs with his Le Francais in Wheeling, was run from 2002 through 2022 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with the proceeds going to that organization. The Foundation then decided to spin off the Awards, which resulted in the one-year hiatus.
In the interim, beginning in March 2023, Chicago Chefs Cook emerged as a powerful community leader in raising money for humanitarian causes, and they partnered with the Jean Banchet Awards to choose a charitable recipient focused on doing good through good food.
“Our mission at Chicago Chefs Cook is to create a united network of chefs from across Chicagoland to raise money and awareness for humanitarian causes near and dear to their hearts, both hyper-locally and across the globe,” said Darren Gest, a local food advocate and Green City Market Board member, who co-founded Chicago Chefs Cook and continues as a member of its leadership team.
“He continued, “When Michael approached us with the opportunity to work together on The Banchet Awards, it seemed like a natural fit to continue the work we’ve been doing, while partnering up with one of the most celebrated events in Chicago's culinary industry to make a true impact.”
Darren also noted the reasoning for choosing the Virtue Leadership Development Program as the event’s charitable recipient. He said. “The program's mission of creating value-based entrepreneurship initiatives that help develop actionable restaurant skills for young adults of color in the city is incredibly important not just to the future of the industry, but to our communities as a whole. It felt like a perfect union, a representation of our wonderful hospitality industry in Chicago now, as well as where it’s headed.”
Erick is certainly no stranger to culinary awards stages, with a high point in 2022, when he received both the Jean Banchet Award for Best Chef and the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Great Lakes.
When he took the podium to accept his award on Sunday, Erick first acknowledged the Chicago Chefs Cook team — restaurateurs Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook and Jodi Fyfe of eden restaurant in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood, and Good Food advocates Darren Gest, Eda Davidman and Melissa Clark — who were onstage with him.
“Thank you all so much for both your dedication to our community… and your undying fight to balance the scales of justice,” Erick said. He also thanked the event sponsors “who have made this day possible for black and brown communities.” He stated, “The opportunity to receive funds is the opportunity for us to go beyond the impassable and find paths that are possible.”
The rest of his comments focused on the high purpose that Virtue Leadership Development pursues.
So why do we do what we do? The hospitality community is known for giving all that it has until it has nothing left… The only thing we have left is knowing that we did the right thing with our time…
Because of Virtue Leadership Development, I've had the opportunity to really hold the mission of “Charity Begins at Home.” It has allowed me to leave my community and go back to my community with needed resources. I've had the opportunity to both develop chefs and hospitality professionals…
And at the end of the day, the most important work that I've ever done is giving back to the community. Our communities are the lifeblood of our cities. Without them, we don't have the restaurants that we have. We don't celebrate occasions like the occasion that we're celebrating today. And we for damn sure don't have staff to support our business.
Equity has more to do with our investment in our spaces, and less to do with what they look like. We need more ownership of our distribution. We need more ownership of opportunity. We need more ownership of our own brands. And so what these dollars do, they supply the needed tools to young people of color out of our inner cities…
I came from one of those communities and by coming from one of those communities I have had an opportunity to tools, the equipment, the books, the support, the mentorship and the development. I've had the grand opportunity to to speak with heads of state, heads of cities, and everyone down to someone's 90-year-old grandmother who wanted to just celebrate being 90 years old. That's the possibility of what leadership does. We take dollars we invest, we take 90 percent of the funds that we receive, and we make sure that they get to the people who are most deserving of those that are in need… That's pretty damn important.
And so with that being stated, I just want to say thank you all for your support. I want to say thank you all for your hospitality. I want to say thank you all for valuing the work that we all do.
Congratulations, Chef, and I am sure Local Food Forum will have much more to tell about the important work of the Virtue Leadership Foundation.
Now, to honor Chicago’s position as one of the world’s culinary capitals, here are the winners of the 2024 Jean Banchet Awards. All of the locators refer to Chicago neighborhoods except Paul Virant’s two suburban restaurants.
Restaurant of the Year: Galit, Lincoln Park
Chef of the Year: Paul Virant of Vie (Western Springs), Vistro Prime (Hinsdale), and Gaijin (West Loop)
Pastry Chef of the Year: Tatum Sinclair of S.K.Y. (Pilsen), Valhalla (West Town), and Apolonia (South Loop)
Best Restaurant Design: The Omakase Room at Sushi-San (River North)
Heritage Restaurant of the Year: Rubi's on 18th (Pilsen)
Bar of the Year: Best Intentions (Logan Square)
Best Counter Service: Omarcito's Latin Cafe (Logan Square)
Sommelier of the Year: Christian Shaum of Bazaar Meat (Loop)
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Pompette (Bucktown)
Best Hospitality: Bronzeville Winery (Bronzeville)
Best New Restaurant: Indienne (River North)
Rising Chef of the Year: Trevor Fleming, Emily Kraszyk and John Lupton of Warlord (Avondale)
And finally, congratulations to Phil Vettel, retired longtime food critic at Chicago Tribune, who received the Jean Banchet Culinary Excellence of the Year Award.