Foodie frenzy

More national attention for Austin's new chefs: Paul Qui, Andrew Curren and NedElliot need your votes

Andrew Curren
Paul Qui
Photo by Alicia Vega
Ned Elliot
Photo by Aimee Wenske

Austin's favorite new chefs need your help once again! On the heels its Best New Pastry Chef competition, Food & Wine Magazine has announced its second ever People's Choice Best New Chef competition. And out of 100 nominees nationwide — ten nominees from ten distinct regions — three Austin favorites have made the cut.

Not surprisingly, leading the Austin pack in representing the Southwest Region is newly-crowned Top Chef, Paul Qui (Uchiko/East Side Kings), who is accompanied by Top Chef comrade Andrew Curren (of 24 Diner and Easy Tiger fame) and North Loop's Ned Elliot (Foreign & Domestic).

Nominees for the competition are recognized for being "up-and-coming innovators who have run their own kitchens for five years or fewer." While Food & Wine narrowed down the pool to 100 U.S. chefs, the winner's circle will be determined by you, the larger dining public. Voting runs Monday, March 5 through Sunday, March 11.

Qui is enjoying some serious publicity. In addition to winning Top Chef: Texas, he was a StarChefs.com Austin/San Antonio Rising Star and is nominated for the 2012 Tastemaker Chef Award.

On Monday, March 12, Food & Wine will reveal the finalists from each region as well as the overall winner, who receives a feature in the July 2012 issue of the magazine.

As Austinites, we already know why Qui, Curren and Elliot shine, but here's what Food & Wine is saying about Austin's the three nominees:

Paul Qui
Why he's amazing: Because he’s risen through the ranks of one of Austin’s most ambitious restaurants to create his unique, modern take on Japanese food.
Must-try dish: Karaage, fried chicken with green apples and pickled watermelon rind.

Andrew Curren
Why he's amazing: Because he’s running a 24-hour diner but still grinds his own hamburger meat and whips the cream for milk shakes by hand.
Must-try dish: Roasted banana-and-brown sugar milk shake.

Ned Elliot
Why he's amazing: Because he’s making elegant, upscale food in a down-and-dirty Austin spot.
Must-try dish: Crispy beef tongue with horseradish-yogurt sauce, microgreens and shaved watermelon radishes.

You can scope out the full list of nominees for the 2012 People's Best New Chef Competition here. And most importantly, you can start voting now.

Consider it an amuse-bouche for a foodie-centric spring in Austin (the 2012 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards take place on April 12, followed by the inaugural Austin Food & Wine Festival on April 27 - 29).

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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.