Curtis Duffy, Chef De Cuisine of Avenues, Named 'Legacy Chef' at James Beard Awards
Curtis Duffy, Chef de Cuisine of Avenues located at The Peninsula Chicago, was named one of the 'legacy chefs' at the James Beard Awards in New York City on May 3, 2010.
To mark the 20th Anniversary of the James Beard Awards, the organization asked the previous Outstanding Chef Award winners from each year to select a chef whom they have mentored—to essentially name the next generation of high profile chefs. Grant Achatz, Chef/Owner at Alinea, selected Curtis Duffy. The two worked together at Trio and at Alinea and have remained in close contact.
As part of this honor, the Legacy Chefs were invited to prepare samplings of a menu item for the 1,000+ attendees following the James Beard Awards. Chef Duffy served a miniature version of an Alaskan King Crab dish that is featured on the Avenues menu.
The item was so well received that Jen Murphy, Travel Editor for Food & Wine magazine, named it the 'Best Dish of the James Beard Gala' in her 'Mouthing Off' blog the following day. Here is an excerpt from the blog: "The past two days have been a blur of eating and drinking as the country's top chefs descended on NYC for the James Beard Awards. Of all the food I've eaten in the last 48 hours I can't stop thinking about the insanely brilliant Alaskan king crab dish Curtis Duffy and his talented crew from Avenues in Chicago were serving after last night's awards gala. I met Curtis earlier in the day and asked if it wasn't a bit ambitious to attempt to pull off a mini version of one of his hyper-creative restaurant dishes for a hungry audience of 1,200. His response: 'If I'm going to NYC to cook for the James Beard Awards, I'm going to go big.' He certainly did. Lovely chunks of Alaskan king crab were served in a cucumber consomme topped with a delicate three-sugar tuile that was garnished with wild-steelhead roe, kalamansi and lemon balm. The dish was complex, refreshing, artistic and came served in a little plastic cup that conveniently cradled into the top of my wine glass. I was beyond impressed, to the point where I had to have seconds. If that's what Curtis and his team can pull off for a crowd at Avery Fisher Hall, I can only imagine the full-blown version they serve at Avenues." What a wonderful compliment on what was already a remarkable evening.
Avenues serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday and is located at The Peninsula Chicago, 108 East Superior Street in Chicago. For more information or reservations, please call (1-312) 573-6685.
