Inside Bon Appétit’s Celebration of the Best New Restaurants of 2024
Bon Appétit hosted a dazzling party at one of Portland, Oregon’s top restaurants to unveil the Best New Restaurants of 2024. Editor in chief Jamila Robinson was joined by restaurant editor Elazar Sontag and members of the Bon Appétit team to celebrate alongside a star-studded list of attendees.
Hundreds gathered at Kann (one of Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants of 2023) to raise a glass to the restaurants that earned a coveted spot on this year’s list. Partygoers included Oregon governor Tina Kotek, award-winning chef Erick Williams of Chicago restaurant Virtue, Ben Jacobsen of Jacobsen Salt Co., star local chef Akkapong Earl Ninsom, and a host of Best New Restaurant winners from years past.
Hosted by the restaurant’s James Beard Award–winning chef-owner Gregory Gourdet, the celebration featured a greatest hits spread of Kann’s dishes, which combine Haitian inspiration and its Pacific Northwest locale. “It was really awesome to be on this list with my team last year,” Gourdet said during a speech. “One of the missions of Kann was to really put Oregon on the map. When we were thinking about designing this restaurant, we were thinking about a global place where people from all over the world could come and experience Haitian cuisine.”
During the ceremony, Robinson spoke to the forces that shaped this year’s list. “The most important and exciting trend that we saw as we were scouting restaurants all over the country was collaboration,” she said. “You were coming together in ways that were making something new, beautiful, and, of course, delicious.” In that spirit of collaboration, the chefs of this year’s Best New Restaurants gathered for group portraits and celebrated and toasted each other’s achievements.
Chuck Charnichart, the 26-year-old pitmaster of Barbs B Q in Lockhart, Texas, received the Chef of the Moment award.
The duo behind Oro by Nixta, a Minneapolis tortilleria, were recognized as this year’s Sustainability Stewards for their work preserving Mexican heirloom corn.
Portland’s own Pasar received this year’s Best Dessert Program for its bite-size Indonesian sweets.
Sophon in Seattle took home the Best Beverage Program for its drinks, which use inspired ingredients to trace Cambodian identity.
Travel Portland, Travel Oregon, and San Pellegrino graciously served as sponsors for the event.
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas1/23Editor in chief Jamila Robinson
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas2/23Amir Morgan, Greg Jones, and Ian Williams
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas3/23Feny Lim and family
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas4/23McMinnville Mayor Remy Drabkin
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas5/23Jamila Robinson and Elazar Sontag
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas6/23The Tâm Tâm team
Photograph by Michael Raines7/23Governor Tina Kotek, Jamila Robinson, and First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas8/23Erick Williams and Elazar Sontag
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas9/23JJ Garlock and Avishar Barua
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas10/23Anthony Salguero, Cecilia Tran, and Jamila Robinson
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas11/23Nori DeVega
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas12/23Colin Pangburn and Jared Krauss
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas13/23Feny Lim and the Pasar Team
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas14/23The Barbs B Q team
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas15/23Mackenzie Chung Fegan and Elazar Sontag
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas16/23Fatou Ouattara
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas17/23Jamila Robinson and the Travel Portland and Travel Oregon teams
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas18/23Gregory Gourdet and Elazar Sontag
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas19/23The Hungry Eyes team
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas20/23Celeste Noche, Joey Hernandez, and Khushbu Shah
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas21/23The Alpenrausch team
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas22/23Caroline Newton, Jamila Robinson, and June Kim
Photograph by Gilbert Terrazas23/23The Bon Appétit team
