The James Beard Awards, the putative Oscars of the food world, are being held next Monday in New York City. We rounded up some of the Chicago nominees and asked them to share with us their thoughts on the awards, their work, and how they'll celebrate if they win. We'll be running their answers throughout the week.
Now it's time to hear from Koren Greiveson, chef de cuisine at Avec. Grieveson has been helming Avec's kitchen since the restaurant's open in 2003, and is being honored this year with her nomination as a Best Chef: Great Lakes region.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you about your nomination?
I guess it’d be a 10. It’s nice to be in with all the other great chefs. The whole thing should be a lot of fun!
What are you looking forward to about the whole experience?
This is my first time going to the awards – I’m excited to see what all the hoopla’s about, and to be around some really great chefs. There'll be good conversations, good networking. It'll be good to see Michael Symon and all those good folks from last weekend [The San Francisco Taste of the Nation benefit], like Traci Desjardins.
Who do you think is your biggest competition in your Beard category?
They all are! Are you kidding me? Michael [Symon] says he’ll be mad, he says that if it’s not him – it’d better be me. But they’re all great chefs, and it’s just fun to be a part of it.
Who Grieveson thinks is the best unsung chef in Chicago, and more — after the jump!
If you win, how are you going to celebrate?
I’m going to … I don’t know! It’ll be a nice weight off my shoulders. I’ll celebrate with my partners, go out on the town – paint it red so to speak. I’m going to try not to go to any of the after parties – it’s a little to social for me.
Do you think there's anyone who the Beards maybe haven't acknowledged yet who deserves a shoutout?
My buddy Steven Dunn, who owns Volo and Paramount Room here in Chicago, he’s got great food, really simple. He’s classically trained. That’s my guy.
Where else are you eating in Chicago these days?
I'm kind of a creature of habit – I go to the same bars, the same restaurants. I was just at Volo last night, had a great dinner there. It’s nice to see Christian over at NoMI, to sit at the bar. I like Urban Belly. But yeah, i don’t really get out much these days.
Is there anywhere you’re looking forward to eating while you're in New York?
I’d love to go back to Resto, which is great, I love the tete de cochon sandwich and the crispy pig's ear salad. I always love going to Prune – that's always a winner. Any of Mario [Batali]’s restaurants. Again, I’m a creature of habit, I usually stick to the same ones. But we’ll see if I get to go to any at all – I get in kind of late Saturday. I might not.
For more pre-Beard interview goodness, check out our Q&As with Monica Eng & Phil Vettel, Paul Kahan, Spiaggia's Sarah Grueneberg, Mike Sula, and Brian Duncan.
[Photo credit: Anthony Tahlier]
