CT chefs, restaurant nominated for 2023 James Beard Foundation awards

Two Connecticut chefs and a top Peruvian restaurant have been nominated for James Beard Foundation awards, known as one of the most prominent honors in the culinary industry. Christian Hunter of Community Table in Washington and Renee Touponce of Oyster Club and the Port of Call in Mystic were nominated as semifinalists for the Best Chef: Northeast award, and Coracora of West Hartford was nominated as a semifinalist for a second consecutive year in the Outstanding Restaurant category. Hunter, who joined Community Table in the summer of 2020, is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and has cooked at Relais & Châteaux’s Lake Placid Lodge and The Weekapaug Inn in Rhode Island, according to his biography on Community Table's website. He credits his time in Charleston, South Carolina, for "all kinds of new ingredients and ideas," and now enjoys the bounty of farm produce in Litchfield County. "One of the most exciting things about cooking in the northwest corner now is the explosion of small organic farms in the area,” he said in the biography. “Everything we do at [Community Table] is seasonal and almost all our ingredients are locally sourced. It’s an intimate thing, working with farmers. Getting to know them and their culture really informs how I feel about the food I make.” Touponce is the executive chef of Mystic's Oyster Club restaurant and The Port of Call, a cocktail bar next door to the Water Street restaurant. She joined the 85th Day Food Community restaurant group in 2017, earning the executive role in 2021. "With her inventive, locally-sourced, sustainable cuisine, she pays homage to the rich, coastal heritage of Southern New England, investigating the ingredients of her region of Mystic and surrounding communities while inventing and recreating the flavors of her youth with products she has access to," her biography page notes. Coracora's 2023 nomination comes one year after the restaurant was honored by the Beard Foundation for the first time, along with a nomination for head chef Macarena Ludena in the Best Chef: Northeast category. Ludena's parents, Hector Ludena and Luisa Jimenez, opened the restaurant in 2011 and it's been a staple for Peruvian cuisine in West Hartford ever since. “We are incredibly honored to be nominated as a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant for the second consecutive year,” said owner Grecia Ludena in a statement Wednesday. "As the only Peruvian restaurant and the sole CT restaurant, we are grateful to the James Beard Foundation to include us in such talented company.” “We put so much love, care and Peruvian culture into everything we do – from our from-scratch dishes, to the service we provide, the cocktails we create, and the quality of ingredients we select – that the acknowledgement is beyond exciting for the entire Coracora team – a team without whom this would not have been possible,” said Macarena Ludena. James Beard awards have been called "the Oscars of the food world" for their prestige. The James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards were established in 1991, and honor chefs, restaurateurs, pastry chefs and bakers. Awards are also given for outstanding hospitality, wine and bar programs and emerging chefs. The mission of the James Beard Awards is to "recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive," according to a statement on the organization's website. The 2022 Awards were the first since changes were made as a result of an audit of the foundation's policies and procedures, including establishing a code of ethics and an independent review process conducted by its volunteer ethics committee. Nominees will be announced on March 29, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on June 5 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This post will be updated.

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