Are Detroit Chefs Talented Enough to Win A James Beard Award?

“The Detroit and Michigan food scene is being looked at on a national level,” says Detroit News features reporter Melody Baetens.

 

The semi-finalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards have been announced and there are some prominent Detroit area restaurants on the list. 

Lady of the House in Corktown, Standby in downtown Detroit both made the cut. Chefs James Rigato from Hazel Park’s Mabel Gray and Thomas Lents from the Apparatus Room inside the Foundation Hotel also made the list. 

Detroit News features reporter Melody Baetens speaks with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper about whether or not any culinary talent from Detroit will make the finals. 

“The last couple years Detroit hasn’t made names in the final list, but we have gotten to the semi-finals,” says Baetens. 

“It’s exciting to see because it…means the Detroit and Michigan food scene is being looked at on a national level.” 

Click on the audio player above for the full conversation. 

Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.