Our James Beard Moment - Abby Taylor

Our team in Chicago (we clean up good!!!)

When Chef was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast, she turned to me and said "This is a team win. We need to figure out a way to bring the whole team along. They need to be there." and I wholeheartedly agreed. The James Beard Awards are basically our industry's version of the Oscars. There's a red carpet. There's media coverage. There's hosts with opening monologues. There's tiny little envelopes being ripped open, names being called out, and dreams coming true on stage. It's really the only opportunity most of us have in this industry to be in a room completely full of folks who are the best of the best in food, beverage and hospitality. So we put the word out to our community and in just a few days we were able to fund the entire trip to Chicago for our team and their partners thanks to the generosity of a few of our most beloved regular guests.

We arrived in Chicago on Sunday afternoon, refreshed ourselves and headed out to the Sunday Hangout at Cafe Yaya, where we all ate our weight in hot honey buttered fried chicken. Then Chef and I booked it over to the Chicago Cocktail Classic, a showcase of award winning bartenders, hosted by the famous Chicago based tiki bar, Three Dots and a Dash. There we were met with sip after sip from bar after bar of some of the best cocktail creators in the country. We got to say hi to the owner of Panda & Sons, who Chef had visited the last time she was in Edinburgh. We ended our cocktail crawl with our dear friends from Merai, who were serving up a larb insipred cocktail that tasted like toasted rice, citrus, cilantro and perfection.

From there, things got a little... hazy... Chef and I walked through a bustling street fair near Fulton Market and noshed on some much needed tacos. Then we met up with the crew and ended up at a bar takeover where there were a lot of complimentary negronis and a lot of tiny squeaking rubber chickens. You know, the usual end to a service industry party. Then we all headed back to the house and hopped in the hot tub before getting our beauty sleep.

Emily and Abby at the Cloud Gate

The next day we made breakfast together and had a few hours of free time. So we all headed to Millennium Park to check out "The Bean" and see Lake Michigan. It was smoking hot but an absolutely picturesque Chicago summer day. The outdoor public art in Chicago is world class. Beautiful walking trails, gorgeous and gigantic public artworks like the Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor and the Buckingham Fountain. Not to mention the enormity of the lake. It feels like an ocean, complete with boat docks and seagulls!

Enjoying the shores of Lake Michigan

Then we hit up a very cute bbq joint near the house and had to head back to get ourselves cleaned up for the main event. Note, if you go to Chicago, get the bbq! We were so impressed by the absolute mountain of deliciousness we were served at Smoke Daddy! Get the Taste of the Daddy platter. You will not be disappointed. Trust us... we're chefs!

Chef's Red Carpet Moment with her husband, Kit Miller

What an honor it was to be in a room with so many talented names in our industry. We witnessed so many dreams coming true and so many doors of opportunity being opened for our industry. This year the awards showcased our immigrant community, who are the life blood of our industry. Our story could not be told without them. Our whole team were so honored to have witnessed so many immigrant stories at the awards and to see the true power of what we can do together in this industry. Chicago really turns out for the James Beard Awards. Honestly, after being In Chicago and witnessing the strength of our industry there, I'm of the opinion there is no better city in the US to host this event. The hospitality in Chicago is unbeatable.

Chef Cassie of Sarma, Owner Boong of Merai, and Chef Erin at the after party

While none of us Bostonians took home a Beard medal, we could not be more honored to stand alongside so many talented, passionate pioneers in our Boston community, especially these two incredible people, Chef Cassie of Sarma, who was up for Outstanding Chef and Boong of Merai Bar who was up for Best New Bar. Their devotion to craft and nurturing our Boston community inspires us to strive for excellence every single day. Just being in the Lyric Opera House with so many leaders in our industry was the most inspiring moment of all of our culinary careers. Thanks to all those who helped us get to Chicago and supported us throughout this journey. We have a feeling it won't be the last time we head to the awards.

The Urban Hearth Team - James Beard Awards 2025