Austin Tastemakers

Jack Gilmore to host Austin Tastemaker Awards with Bull, Cole, Qui, Cirkiel andmore: Ticket sales begin now!

Jack Gilmore, Chef/owner of Jack Allen's Kitchen and one of Austin's most beloved and respected chefs, will host the inaugural CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, a ceremony recognizing the very best Chefs, Restaurants and Mixologists Austin has to offer.

Gilmore, will oversee the festivities along with acclaimed Texas Chefs Robert Del Grande of Houston's RDG + Bar Annie and Andrew Weissman of San Antonio's Il Sogno, Sandbar and the former Le Reve. Together, the three will announce the 2012 CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners for Chef, Restaurant, Pastry Chef, Mixologist, Wine and Beverage Service, and Decor/Atmosphere.

With the announcement of Gilmore, tickets also went on sale today for the the Tastemakers event, hosted by CultureMap at the Driskill Hotel on April 12, 2012.

Modeled after the James Beard national awards, The Tastemaker Awards rely on the expert opinions of those who know food and drink. CultureMap Food + Drink Editor Jessica Dupuy tapped Del Grande and Weissman to lead a secret panel of 12 food experts from the Austin area. The panel chose five nominees in each awards category and will submit final ballots to accounting firm Maxwell, Locke and Ritter for tabulation.

The ceremony on April 12^th will celebrate Austin's rise onto the national culinary scene and thank those who lead the charge. The nominees represent a diverse collection of new talent like Paul Qui, Bryce Gilmore, Laura Sawicki, Houston Eaves and Chauncy James, and veteran standard bearers like Fonda San Miguel, David Bull, Tyson Cole, Uchi and Paggi House.

Take a look at the entire nominee list here.

You're invited to the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. A limited number of tickets are on sale now. General admission tickets are $35 and include free food and drink, much of it from the nominees, and a chance to mingle with Austin's culinary and cocktail superstars. VIP tickets include seated viewing of the awards ceremony and a rockin' after party at a very cool location to be announced soon. VIP tickets are $100.

Scheduled just two weeks before the Austin Food & Wine Festival, the Tastemaker Awards offer a chance to honor the locals making Austin a great place to eat and drink, and for a good cause. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the non-profit Austin Food & Wine Alliance.

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The 2012 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards will take place at the historic Driskill Hotel on Thursday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m. For detailed information about the event, including a full list of nominees and ticketing options, visit The Tastemakers website.

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Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.