LIFE

Nashville now has the chef award to go with ‘it city’ status

Jim Myers
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Tandy Wilson accepts his award as Best Chef: Southeast at the 2016 James Beard Awards.

Winter is over and it's about time.

At long last, the "it city" has the chef award to go with its it-ness.

On Monday night, the James Beard Foundation handed out its coveted, ballyhooed and sometime overblown awards in what is often called the "Oscars of the food world."

Tandy Wilson at last broke the Beard barrier. As the chef/owner of City House who has been nominated almost every year since he opened 10 years ago — four years as a finalist — he finally cast aside his "always a bridesmaid" moniker and hauled home the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast. Outside of heritage awards for old standbys like Arnold's Country Kitchen and Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, this is the first chef-driven award for Nashville.

How Nashville native, City House chef Tandy Wilson got his start

While accepting the award, Wilson was eloquent and humble, saying, "When you grow up in Nashville, you want to do something great. You get sewn into this quilt of Nashville lore." On Monday night Wilson indeed added a patch to that quilt and the city's culinary lore.

Wilson was one of two Nashville chefs who were finalists this year. Like the Academy Awards, in each category there is a winner but no second place. The only consolation is the thrill and honor of making the short list of finalists, plus the marketing spin you can make off of that.

5. Husk: Sean Brock in his kitchen at Husk in Nashville

Nominated in the mack-daddy category of Outstanding Chef, Sean Brock did not win in the night's most competitive category. Brock moved back to Nashville a couple of years ago after leaving the Capitol Grille to man the helm at McCrady's and Husk in Charleston, S.C.. This year, his fourth as a finalist in the Outstanding Chef category, Brock proudly wanted to represent Nashville through his local Husk outpost. He already had won a regional Best Chef award during his Carolina tenure.

Is Husk Nashville's Sean Brock the best chef in the country?

2. City House: Tandy Wilson, chef/owner of City House, 
works in the kitchen.

Reach Jim Myers at 615-259-8367 and on Twitter @ReadJimMyers.