Meet Your Beard Nominees: Brian Duncan of Bin 36
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.
Up now: Brian Duncan, wine director at Bin 36, which has been nominated for Outstanding Wine Service. Duncan has been overseeing Bin 36's wine program (and blending some of the wines himself) since the restaurant's opening in 1999, and has risen to national prominence for his joyful, inclusive take on the often-intimidating oenophiliac world.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you about your nomination?
35. No wait, 36. It may sound corny, but it is such an honor to get the nomination. And it means so much for our staff- they’re the ones who are out there every day making wine user-friendly and fun for our guests.
What are you looking forward to about this year's awards ceremony?
This is my third nomination in a row, and my date is my aunt Elsa. It’s a thrill to have her there to be part of it, she accompanied me last year. It means the world to have your family there. Besides that, a lot of my friends and colleagues have been nominated and I’m really excited for them. It’s almost surreal to be in the company of the other nominees and participants, past winners – for somebody like me, who has been a big fan of food and wine and the people who have really created interest and energy in the industry, I think the Beard Awards makes the Oscars look like a TV commercial. Who better to throw a party than the food and wine people?
Duncan tells us why Paul Kahan is his hero, and the importance of keeping an inclusive mindset — after the jump!
Who do you think is your biggest competition in your Beard category?
It’s hard to say – I’m not even sure that I completely understand the entire process from nomination to actual winners. But I know that Picasso has been nominated again, we were up against them previously. Having not had the pleasure of visiting some of the other venues, it’s difficult to sort of gauge their qualifications, but clearly it’s a category where they’ve looked closely at your profile, your contribution to wine education.
Really, the camaraderie in our industry is somewhat unique. People quite often over the years have said to me “oh we dined at your competition the other night” and I’m like “I don't understand” – anyone out there promoting wine and food and wine education is not my competition, they’re my advocate and colleague. The restaurant and wine industry is very different than other businesses, it’s an industry that does a lot of sharing. People that I’ve met that are the icons in the industry, whether they’re chefs or wine people, they’re the most generous people in terms of sharing information, they enjoy commiserating with other people who are making a difference in wine and food. So it’s hard for me to think in terms of competition. My brain is wired to be inclusive – i think we do better when we’re that way.
If you win, how are you going to celebrate?
We’ve already got reservations at Bar Boulud for right after the ceremony. We'll go, have dinner, some wine.
But regardless of the outcome, I think what we’re really proud of is that we’ve seen so much to be proud of over the years. Interesting wines by the glass was not as popular when we started as it is now, and i think we’ve had a lot to do with that. Getting people to step out of their safety zone, to show them that wine is more than the Pepsi/Coke challenge — our audience is more sophisticated, more willing to be shown anything from anywhere in the world, as long as they’re sampling great representations of wine.
And of course, I’ve lost count of the number of people who've worked with us, servers, bartenders, who have gone on to careers in the food industry. And many of them will say that it’s because of what we’ve done to help them out. We’re kind of a hothouse of talent that’s going out there to contribute – it makes me very emotional and very proud of them. Getting to watch them work, It’s a wonderful experience. It's a victory.
Do you think there's anyone out there who deserves recognition for their culinary efforts, who the Beards haven't yet acknowledged?
I was recently at Osteria Mozza in L.A., and they have a wonderful wine and food program there. It’s a younger restaurant, so I'm not sure if they qualify for the Beards yet. I do think they’ve been recognized in other places. It’s wonderful.
And there’s a restaurant here in Chicago that I think has always been on the cutting edge – Salpicon. They have one of the greatest wine programs in the country. I think people are not aware of the breadth and thought that has gone into making that wine program something special. So much thought and care goes into the food, too, and it’s just a stellar experience.
I also am really impressed with C-House. I love Marcus [Samuelsson]’s restaurants, they all have great wine programs.
Where else in Chicago are you eating these days?
The Publican, of course – Paul [Kahan] and I have been friends for, let me think, 19 years? He was the chef de cuisine at Topolobampo and I was a server there, and I tried to steal every technique and recipe that he had. I’ve been a big admirer of the philosophy behind his cuisine, the simplicity. He’s carried that through all his restaurants. I think he’s one of America’s greatest chefs, and is so deserving of his nomination for Outstanding Chef. I'm a big, big fan of his whole approach.
Are you looking forward to eating anywhere in NY?
We have plans for the night before the awards at one of the Momofuku restaurants, I'm not sure which one. I’m sure we’re going to Merkato 55 while we’re in town,also The Spotted Pig, Hearth. Paris Commune is on the list, not sure if we’ll make it or not. Those are just some of them, there are so, so many.
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 Koren Grieveson.
