The flavors and culture of Santurce made their mark on the James Beard Foundation 2023 culinary award nominations, through Puerto Rican chefs Natalia Vallejo and Francis Guzmán.
Both Vallejo and Guzmán are among the finalists in the "Best Chef" category for the South region of the United States, competing with 18 other chefs from states including Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.
"Grateful for this nomination in the Best Chef: South James Beard Foundation category. It is an honor to be part of this list of nominees and to continue representing our country through our culinary identity as Puerto Ricans, Caribbeans, Antilleans. Bringing the product with intuition, love and respect for those who work the land consciously in a country where we import 95% of what we consume," said Vallejo, chef of Cocina al Fondo, on social media.
"We will keep building our country through the table! Thank you to the entire team, family and everyone who visits and supports us!" added Vallejo, who started the Cocina al Fondo project at the Santurce cultural space :Pública.
Vallejo and Guzmán are repeat nominees at the James Beard Awards. Guzmán, chef of Vianda, earned a nomination for Best Restaurant in 2019, and in 2020 Cocina al Fondo also placed as a finalist in that category.
The James Beard Awards are considered the Oscars of the food industry in the United States. The awards gala will take place June 5 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. See the full list of nominees here.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
