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Burnt Bean Co.’s Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland attend the James Beard Award ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
However, Alamo City culinary powerhouses John Russ, Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland aren’t wallowing in the loss.
Clementine chef John Russ and Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland, the partners in Seguin's Burnt Bean Co., were finalists in a Texas-specific regional category and attended last night’s award ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, hoping to bring home the Alamo City’s first Best Chef: Texas win.
Houston chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter, known for helping to make the world "a little more Thai" via her 10-seat Street to Kitchen restaurant, took home the coveted medallion.
Following the ceremony, Russ congratulated Painter on Instagram, adding that it was a “genuinely humbling experience” to have been nominated. He also thanked Clementine’s “beloved family, friends and patrons” for their unwavering support.
Servantes and Kirkland also attended the event, closing their barbecue restaurant Sunday to allow for the trip, a social media post notes.
Russ, Servantes and Kirkland were named semifinalists in the Best Chef: Texas category in 2022. The regional category was first introduced in 2019. This was the first time they’d advanced to become finalists.
Other San Antonio-area chefs have made it to the semifinals round of the Beard Awards over the years — Jason Dady, Biga’s Bruce Auden and Cured’s Steve McHugh, to name a few — but, so far, none has brought home the coveted title.
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