james beard finalists 2022

2 celebrated Austin chefs named James Beard Award finalists

Two of Austin’s most buzzworthy chefs have made the cut on the coveted list of James Beard Award finalists for 2022.

Chef Edgar Rico of wildly popular east side eatery Nixta Taqueria, has been named a James Beard Award finalist in the Emerging Chef category, and Chef Iliana de la Vega of south side Mexican restaurant El Naranjo has been named a finalist in the Best Chef: Texas category.

Considered the Oscars of the food world, the awards recognize chefs and other culinary professionals in a wide range of categories ranging from Outstanding Chef to Best New Restaurant. The Beard Foundation created the Best Chef: Texas category in 2019 to recognize the state’s diverse collection of talent.

Though four Austin chefs were nominated in the James Beard Awards’ semifinalist round, the Rico and de la Vega were the only local nominees to make it to the final round.

However, Texas is well-represented overall on the list of finalists.

Texans in the running for national awards are:

Outstanding Hospitality: Hugo’s
Outstanding Bar Program: Julep
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Ruben Ortega, Xochi
Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Williams, Lucille’s Hospitality Group
Best New Restaurant: Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch
Emerging Chef: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin

The finalists for Best Chef: Texas are:

Tiffany Derry, Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch
Christine Ha and Tony Nguyen, Xin Chao, Houston
Quy Hoang, Blood Bros. BBQ, Bellaire
Steve McHugh, Cured, San Antonio
Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin

Overall, the nominees demonstrate the Beard Foundation’s commitment to recognizing a more diverse group of nominees and styles of restaurant than it has in the past. For example, five Texas pitmasters earned semifinalist nominations for Best Chef: Texas.

The Beard Foundation will announce the finalists for its media award on April 27. Winners will be awarded in Chicago on June 13.

Chef Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo.

Photo by Keith Uyeda

Chef Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo.

chefs awards

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.