Four Portland Chefs Honored by James Beard Foundation

Naomi Pomeroy, Head Chef & Owner of BEAST and Designer Emily Katz cheer on Girl Inc. Girls Council member Janny.

Charleston, South Carolina, March 18th, 2013. The James Beard Foundation announced its 2013 award finalists three of the five Best Chef, Northwest category are from Portland. Chefs Naomi Pomeroy (of Beast) who is pictured at a Girls Inc. fundraiser, Gabriel Rucker (of Le Pigeon), and Cathy Whims (of Nostrana) were selected. Additionally, after several years as a semifinalist, Ken Forkish (of Ken’s Artisan Bakery) was a nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef.

The 2013 James Beard Award winners will be announced on Monday, May 6, 2013 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. For the complete list of nominees, head to Eater National. Here Are the 2013 James Beard Awards Finalists.

About the James Beard Foundation:

James Andrew Beard was born on May 5, 1903 in Portland, Oregon, to Elizabeth and John Beard. His mother, an independent English woman passionate about food, ran a boarding house. His father worked at Portland’s Customs House. The family spent summers at the beach at Gearhart, Oregon, fishing, gathering shellfish and wild berries, and cooking meals with whatever was caught.

His philosophy Food matters. You are what you eat not only because food is nutrition, but also because food is an integral part of our everyday lives. Food is economics, politics, entertainment, culture, fashion, family, passion…and nourishment. The James Beard Foundation is at the center of America’s culinary community, dedicated to exploring the way food enriches our lives.

A cookbook author and teacher, James Beard was a champion of American cuisine who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by offering a variety of events and programs designed to educate, inspire, entertain, and foster a deeper understanding of our culinary culture. These programs include educational initiatives, food industry awards, an annual national food conference, Leadership Awards program, culinary scholarships, and publications. In addition to maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs, the Foundation has created a robust online community, and hosts conferences, tastings, lectures, workshops, and food-related art exhibits in New York City and around the country.

The James Beard Foundation is a national not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in New York City.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.