Julie Powell: No surprises here

Well, that was no surprise. David Chang as best chef, NYC. I still can’t get into his restaurant.

He said he is shocked and humbled. I strongly doubt that. And why should he be?

Winners!

Here’s an update on who has won so far:

Rising Star Chef of the Year: Gavin Kaysen, Cafe Boulud, NYC

Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional: Terry Theise, Terry Theise Estate Selections, Silver Spring, MD

Outstanding Wine Service: Eleven Madison Park, NYC, Wine Director: John Ragan

Best Chef: Pacific: Craig Stoll, Delfina, San Francisco

Best Chef: Southwest: Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Fresca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO

Best Chef: Northwest: Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

Best Chef: South: Michelle Bernstein, Michy’s, Miami

Best Chef: Midwest: Adam Siegel, Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, Milwaukee

Best Chef: Great Lakes: Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago

Best Chef: Southeast: Robert Stehling, Hominy Grill, Charleston, SC

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic: Eric Ziebold, CityZen, Washington, DC

Best Chef: Northeast: Patrick Connolly, Radius, Boston

Best Chef: New York Ciy: David Chang, Momofuku Saam Bar, NYC

Stay tuned…

Dr. Vino: The wine award winners

Two wine awards announced: importer Terry Theise for Wine & Spirits Professional and John Ragan of Eleven Madison Park for outstanding wine service.

Terry Theise blew a kiss at the crowd with both hands as he came on stage, cited people who believed in him, including his 75 growers and the Skurniks, his NY distributor. He ended by calling his wife, chef Odessa Piper, “a fox.”

John Ragan, pictured here with Eleven Madison Park GM Will Guidara, said in the press room that he is “super excited.”

Julie Powell: Michelle Bernstein cuteness

So I’m sitting in the corner reserved for live-bloggers, among the stacks of extra chairs, waiting for damned iPhone to recharge – the battery lasts like 45 minutes (Steve Jobs can bite me) – and witness Michelle Bernstein, fresh offstage from winning her Best Chef, South award, tearily talking to her family on her cell phone: “I’m not an asshole! I didn’t think I’d win!”

So very, very adorable.

Snack: From the red carpet to the press room

It was difficlt to live blog the red carpet with a mike and camera in tow. Lot of nice looking suits. Johnny Iuzzini in Prada. Yosuke Suga in Gucci. Fabio Trabocchi in Burberry. And my personal fashion favorite, Morimoto resplendent in shogun silks from Japan.

Now that the awards have started the action is in the press room. Winners come off the stage for interviews. And there’s a good supply of Champagne and seats. A good place to pause, blog and cocktail.

Cheers.

Julie Powell: Porky Goodness

There is some seriously porky goodness under that Saran wrap. Have I metioned I haven’t eaten all day?

Oh, there’s an awards show going on? Oops!

The Paupered Chef: While the Chefs Are Away

We just left the lobby where all the chefs were lined up neatly in their coats, ready to go single-file into the auditorium to be introduced. This, of course, left all this delicious food totally unguarded. We did all we could to avoid tearing into an intoxicating pork shoulder sitting in a hotel pan with no one nearby. A luscious dry-cured ham sits on a cutting board with a knife next to it — would anyone notice a little thin slice missing? We were tempted to jump ship with the ham and run to Central Park and forget the whole ceremony. Constraint.

While the chefs are away basking in the flash photography, we take the opportunity to speak to a few prep cooks who are in it for the long haul.

The jobs ranged from the menial – the poor preps plucking off every tiny leaf from bags of marjoram – to the physical – major shaking of heavy cream and buttermilk at the Bacchanalia table, destined to become a foam.

Then there was Osteria Mozza, Nancy Silverton’s station, where they seem to be leaps ahead of everyone else. Their leeks already seared brown, artichokes skinned and cooked, and lots of fluffy mozzarella. The preps were basically just guards. Good thing. The mozzarella looks really good.

Julie Powell: Um, Champagne?

I was standing right behind Lidia Bastianich just now on the way in. She seemed very nice, but I didn’t get a picture. Right behind ME was a woman moaning about how slow the line was. There are many many bells ringing for some reason, and mysteriously no one has begun serving me champagne.

Dr. Vino: Cocktails and coolers

Welcome to the 2008 James Beard Awards, where I’ll be leading you on the drinks beat. As the nominees are filing in on the red carpet, I sneaked up to the Loggia, laden with drinks and currently devoid of people. Since it is 95 degrees and 95% humidity, everyone is in the AC where the bubbles are flowing–Pellegrino bubbles, that is. More from the loggia after the ceremony.

The Paupered Chef: Connecting over cheese

We’re hanging out in the press room with Bobby Flay and Ted Allen drinking Pommery Champagne and sampling cheese. Everyone’s a little quiet and polite, maybe even nervous. Dan Barber is standing around, Bobby Flay is splayed out on the couch answering questions into a microphone.

In the corner they’re pouring Champagne and pulling espresso shots–take your pick. The cheese table is manned by Artisanal Premium Cheese, and everything on offer is from American producers.

The friendly guy manning the table goes through the exhaustive definitions of precisely where the cheese comes from and how it was made, then casually mentions Wabash Cannonball from Indiana. We asked where exactly in Indiana it came from he said that it came from a town just 20 miles north of Louisville that was so small it didn’t have a name. That happens to be remarkably close to the small town Nick grew up in some 45 miles north Louisville.

Brilliant cheese, by the way. A soft goat cheese with a dry texture and a thick richness. It has an ash and mold rind. We’re heading into the fray to check out who’s cooking what.