Over 40 Chef and Cocktail Stations to Savor!
The James Beard Foundation®, the organization behind the James Beard Awards®, the most prestigious culinary recognition in the country, announced that its Taste America culinary series returns to Seattle with a walk-around tasting on Oct. 23 at 6 p.m.
at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle. Presented by Capital One, the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America® series celebrates culinary excellence and the local independent restaurants at the heart of our communities, bringing together chefs and food lovers for unique dining experiences across 20 U.S. cities.
The Seattle walk-around tasting will feature Communion’s Kristi Brown, Canlis’ Aisha Ibrahim, and Copine’s Shaun McCrain. See the event website below for the list of other participating chef talent featured on Oct. 23.
Chef Brown founded That Brown Girl Cooks Catering in the mid-1990s, gaining popularity for her unique culinary style and exceptional service. Her mantra; Everybody’s Gotta Eat; led
her to co-found a community kitchen, earning widespread recognition. Communion R & B, a culinary venture by Chef Kristi and her son Damon Bomar, opened its doors in Seattle's
Central District. In 2021, she was recognized as one of Seattle Magazine's influential figures and an Emerging Chef Semifinalist for the James Beard Awards. She was also nominated by James Beard in 2024 for Northwest Best Chef.
Communion has also been included in USA Today’s and The New York Times Best Restaurant Lists. Upon graduating from the Le Cordon Bleu program, Aisha Ibrahim
launched her career in the Bay Area at notable restaurants such as Aqua, Commis, and Manresa where she became a sous chef. Ibrahim was tapped to be Chef de Cuisine for Eneko Atxa’s Aziamendi (listed as one of the World’s 50 Best’s original six restaurants to watch) in southern Thailand. Throughout her career, she has spent time at some of the best kitchens in the world including Azurmendi, Kagurazaka Ishikawa, L’effervescence, and Ryugin. Ibrahim accepted the Executive chef position at Canlis Restaurant in 2021 and was most recently recognized as a 2023 Food & Wine Best New Chef. Canlis is a James Beard Award winner.
Originally from Eugene, Ore., McCrain returned to the Pacific Northwest after working in some of the best kitchens in the world. A Seattle Central Community College graduate, he
started his career at the Painted Table. His travels have led him to Masa's and La Folie in San Francisco as well as Elysees du Vernet and Taillevent in Paris. In 2004 he was hired as part of
the opening team of Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York City, where he rose to fill the position of Executive Sous Chef. In 2010 Shaun accepted the position of Chef at Book Bindery, the restaurant in Seattle. After four years leading that kitchen he and his wife Jill Kinney departed to begin work on Copine, which offers contemporary American cuisine executed with classical French technique. Chef McCrain is a James Beard Award Semifinalist and Copine is a James Beard Award Nominee.
Visit jamesbeard.org/tasteamerica for details and tickets to Taste America Seattle, which is selling fast.