Chef Ouita Michel earns second James Beard award nomination for outstanding restaurateur
Kentucky restaurateur Ouita Michel was named Feb. 26 as a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award, a prestigious honor for culinary professionals.
Michel was nominated as 2020 Outstanding Restaurateur by the foundation. She owns Holly Hill Inn and The Midway Bakery, Midway; Wallace Station Deli, Versailles; Windy Corner Market and Restaurant and Smithtown Seafood, Honeywood, Zim's Cafe and Thirsty Fox, and Holly Hill Events, Lexington; and Glenn's Creek Café at Woodford Reserve Distillery, where Michel is chef-in-residence.
"I am thrilled to work with such a talented team, who also earned this honor," Michel said. "This nomination recognizes the strength of Kentucky's incredible farmers, and our Bluegrass region's reputation for unrivaled hospitality."
For the Outstanding Restaurateur Award, a semifinalist is judged as a working restaurateur who sets high national standards in restaurant operations and entrepreneurship. Candidates must have been in the restaurant business for at least 10 years, according to the foundation. Finalists will be announced in March; winners will be announced at the foundation's annual gala in Chicago in May.
James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and brightest in the food world, from cookbooks to rising chefs to best restaurants in North America. Time magazine called the awards "The Oscars of the food world." Michel has been nominated several times as Best Chef Southeast.
Other 2020 Kentucky nominees include: Best Chef Southeast, Annie Pettry, Decca, Louisville; and for Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional, Drew Kulsveen, Willett Distillery, Bardstown.
Two chefs attending Michel's FEAST fund raiser for FoodChain on March 10 also received Beard nominations: Abra Berens, Granor Farm, Three Oaks, Mich., for Best Chef Great Lakes, and Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Washington, D.C., Best Chef Atlantic. For information and tickets please click here.
Ashleigh Shanti, guest chef for the Honeywood's Feb. 27 Southern Roots Dinner, was nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year. For tickets and more information about the dinner click here.
For more information about Ouita Michel, please go to ouitamichel.com. Michel's flagship restaurant, Holly Hill Inn, is at 426 North Winter Street in historic Midway, Kentucky.