Award show dinners are notoriously meh—like wedding food, company picnics, and *shudders at the thought* galas. But when the awards are food awards, the James Beard awards in fact, they can't offer an overcooked steak or defrosted fish for your "choice of main." At this year's Beards, when chefs shake hands with each other and say, "No, YOUR food is great!" they'll also be eating dishes of their peer's design.
The theme is TV dinners, but nothing will come covered in steaming plastic on a tray table. It'll be fancy. Twenty chefs who have either won before or worked for award-winning restaurant groups came up with dishes inspired by a TV show or character, like Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ's Flinstonesian brisket and Michael Anthony of Untitled's citrus-cured wahoo freshly caught off Gilligan’s Island. Below, see a preview of what four chefs are cooking up, including a wild game (roadkill?) dish with special guest ingredient: squirrel. Wait, wha?!
"Brian Finch of Limitless is an adventurous guy, a New Yorker who lives and breathes the city. I think he’d relish the flavors of a classic octopus terrine spiced in the manner of NYC pastrami."
Says Psaltis: "Our housemade Texas hot links will be served ‘all the way’—steamed buns, pimento cheese, pickles, jalapeños, and onion.”
Sawyer didn't want to give too much away, but there's a touch of squirrel meat in here. Seriously.