FnB's Charleen Badman Wins James Beard's Top Chef Of Southwest

PHOENIX — The best chef in the Southwest United States is right here in Scottsdale, at least according to the authoritative rankings of the James Beard Foundation. Charleen Badman of FnB was recognized with the top award in the category after being runner up for the last 5 years.

Badman's reputation grew in part from her ability to develop enticing flavors from local vegetables, earning her the name of "veggie whisperer." FnB's menu is Scottsdale represents these seasonal flavors. The restaurant's sommelier, Pavle Milic, helped promote local wines by offering only bottles from Arizona vineyards.

Since opening in 2009, FnB has racked up numerous accolades, including having one of the top 15 dishes in the country, according to James Beard, back in 2014.

Badman is the first Arizona chef to win the honor since 2007, when Nobuo Fukuda of Sea Saw took the award, according to the Arizona Republic.

The awards were presented in the restaurant, chef and restaurant design categories on Monday. Special achievement awards were presented for Lifetime Achievement, Design Icon, America’s Classics and Humanitarian of the Year.

HERE'S THE COMPLETE LIST:

2019 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards

Studio Writers, for Atomix in New York City (75 seats and under);

Parts and Labor Design, for Pacific Standard Time in Chicago (76 seats and over); and

Schwartz and Architecture for El Pípila in San Francisco (other eating and drinking places).

Design Icon: Canlis, Seattle.

2019 James Beard Foundation Restaurant And Chef Awards

Best New Restaurant: Frenchette, New York City;

Outstanding Baker: Greg Wade, Publican Quality Bread, Chicago;

Outstanding Bar Program: Bar Agricole, San Francisco;

Outstanding Chef: Ashley Christensen, Poole’s Diner, Raleigh, North Carolina

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Kelly Fields, Willa Jean, New Orleans;

Outstanding Restaurant: Zahav, Philadelphia;

Outstanding Restaurateur: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, and others), Chicago;

Outstanding Service: Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado;

Outstanding Wine Program: Benu, San Francisco;

Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Producer: Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine;

Rising Star Chef of the Year: Kwame Onwuachi, Kith and Kin, Washington, D.C.

Best Chefs in America

Great Lakes region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio): Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Parachute, Chicago;

Mid-Atlantic (District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia): Tom Cunanan, Bad Saint, Washington, D.C.;

Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin): Ann Kim, Young Joni, Minneapolis

New York City (Five Boroughs): Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, Via Carota;

Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York state, Rhode Island and Vermont): Tony Messina, Uni, Boston;

Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming): Brady Williams, Canlis, Seattle;

South (Alabama, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi): Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, Mississippi;

Southeast (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia): Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia;

Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah): Charleen Badman
FnB, Scottsdale, Arizona;

West (California, Hawaii and Nevada): Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles.

2019 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics Honorees

Pho 79, Garden Grove, California, owned by Tho Trần and Liễu Trần;

Jim’s Steak & Spaghetti House, Huntington, West Virginia, owned by Jimmie Tweel Carder, Larry Tweel, and Ron Tweel:

A&A Bake & Double Roti Shop, Brooklyn, New York, owned by Noel and Geeta Brown;

Sehnert's Bakery & Bieroc Café, McCook, Nebraska, owned by Matt and Shelly Sehnert; and

Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse, Washington, D.C., owned by Paul Katinas.

2019 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year

The Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance to food-service workers through financial support and a network of community resources.

2019 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award

Patrick O’Connell, five-time James Beard Award winner, three-star Michelin chef, author, and owner of The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.

Go here to see all the winners.

The James Beard Foundation has presented the awards for more than 30 years. This year’s theme was “Good Food For Good,” which the foundation says is synonymous with its mission.

Gala reception chefs from across the country included past James Beard Award winners and many who are involved in the foundation’s signature impact-oriented initiatives, from Smart Catch to Women’s Leadership Programs to the Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change.

Nearly 2,000 people attended the gala, held at Lyric Opera in Chicago. The ceremony was emceed by Emmy-nominated actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. VIP guests were treated to a multi-course dinner and experience in the mezzanine boxes during the awards show prepared by chefs from the esteemed Union Square Hospitality Group.