Enterprising Cleveland chef Jonathon Sawyer has been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef, Great Lakes — four times. And the first three times, he lost out to a chef from that culinary mecca 350 miles to Cleveland’s west, Chicago.
But Monday May 4 —at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House, of all places (the first time the awards have been held outside New York City) — his luck changed, when he beat not one, not two, not three, but FOUR nominees from Chicago to snag the honor for 2015
The Chicago Tribune reports:
“Perhaps for Chicagoans betting on probability, the night’s biggest surprise might be the best chef, Great Lakes category, a regional award for chefs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Chicago chefs almost always take the bulk of nominations, and this year, four local chefs landed on the finalist list of five. But it was a Cleveland chef, Jonathon Sawyer of rhe Greenhouse Tavern, who took home the award Monday, besting Erling Wu-Bower of Nico Osteria, Curtis Duffy of Grace, Andrew Zimmerman of Sepia, and Paul Virant of Vie in Western Springs.
‘Chicago, thank you for not booing me,’ Sawyer said after accepting his award on stage.”
It’s been a great year for Sawyer since the 2014 awards. Last summer he added Trentina, an Italian-flavored fine-dining establishment in University Circle, to his portfolio which already featured his more casual East 4th Street flagship pub the Greenhouse Tavern and his ramen place around the corner, Noodlecat. And this spring he published his first book, Noodle Kids, featuring noodle recipes from around the world, made easy for kids as well as adults novices. And he’s got a couple more books in the pipeline.
He also has his Tavern Vinegar Co., which sells vinegars he brews in his Cleveland Heights basement, to the public online and at retail outlets.
Like many of Cleveland’s top chefs, Sawyer is a proponent of local, sustainable, seasonal food. He’s joined with the Environmental Working Group to advocate against the so-called DARK Act in Congress, which would forbid states from passing GMO labeling laws. You can sign his petition here.
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