StarChefs.com, an online magazine for culinary insiders, has announced its 2014 Kentucky-Tennessee Rising Stars Awards, honoring up-and-coming chefs and culinary professionals who represent the vanguard of the contemporary American dining scene.
According to a news release, the Rising Stars Awards recognize chefs, pastry chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, and artisans from around the country that represent future leaders of the national culinary scene. Candidates are nominated by the StarChefs.com Advisory Board, previous winners, local media and editorial research. Winners are chosen by the StarChefs.com editorial team.
The New York City-based StarChefs team visited chefs and artisans in eight cities and towns, including Louisville, Nashville and Memphis. Historically, the publication has focused on restaurant and beverage scenes in major metros such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco, but it’s now branching out to smaller cities.
This year’s Southern winners will be showcased at the Rising Stars Gala on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Muhammad Ali Center, beginning with an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m., followed by a tasting gala from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The walk-around tasting gala will give attendees the opportunity to experience 15 of Kentucky and Tennessee’s top chefs and restaurants with beverage pairings and cocktails by the winning sommelier and mixologists, in one location for one night only.
Tickets are limited to 300, so you might want to act quickly if you’d like to attend.
To see if any of your favorite restaurant personalities were nominated, follow this link.
