A Taste of Tastemakers
Foodies toast Austin's top restaurant and bar talent at biggest Tastemakers yet
Foodies flocked to the Bullock Texas State History Museum Tuesday night for the fifth annual Tastemaker Awards to celebrate Austin and San Antonio’s top talent in the food and beverage industry.
Nearly 800 people packed into the venue to enjoy the amazing food, drinks, and entertainment, and to find out who would walk away as the evening’s big winners. Beloved Texas chef Tim Love (owner of Lonesome Dove and a founder of the Austin Food & Wine Festival) served as emcee for the awards program, handing out a total of 13 awards.
The Townsend racked up the most awards, starting off with its win for Bar of the Year. The Townsend’s mixologist Justin Elliott took home Bartender of the Year, and the citrusy herbaceous cocktail he served during the event won the People’s Choice award.
The evening kicked off with a special VIP happy hour in the Bullock’s “Our Global Kitchen” exhibit with sommelier Devon Broglie from Whole Foods Market. Tequila Herradura cocktails were flowing at the main bars while six Austin bartenders concocted their own creations for guests to sample. A bubbly bar, sips from Chloe Wine Collection, and beer from Alaskan Brewing Co. helped round out the drink options, while Perrier and Acqua Panna kept guests hydrated.
In addition to the bartenders shaking up cocktails upstairs, Spun Ice Cream was in the house whipping up liquid nitrogen treats. A truth booth gave folks an honest assessment of their appearance, while the Instacookie station from Kellie’s Baking Co. printed photos onto cookies, allowing guests to literally eat their own faces. Downstairs, the My Event is the Bomb photo booth created fun GIFs.
A portion of the proceeds from the Tastemaker Awards supports the Austin Food & Wine Alliance. And to top it all off, guests walked away from the event with a little Tiff's Treats care package courtesy of Porsche Central Austin.
Spotted in the crowd: Kevin Fink, June Rodil, Laura Sawicki, Rene Ortiz, C.K. Chin, Billy Hankey, Patricia Sharpe, Justin Lavenue, Michael Fojtasek, Justin Elliott, Jennifer Keyser, Madelyn Kay, Jason Dady, Chauncy James, Todd Havers, Lynzy Moran, Michael Sanders, Jessica Sanders, Marla Camp, Ania Robbins, Natalie Paramore, Melody Fury, Tom Thornton, and Mariam Parker.
- At the conclusion of the event, Porsche Central Austin gifted Tiff's Treats to all in attendance.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Emcee Tim Love and the night's winners celebrate with a tequila shot.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Chilled rocky nook oysters with michelada mignonette from Central Standard.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Bartender of the Year nominee Justin Lavenue from The Roosevelt Room.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Oasthouse Kitchen + Bar offered chocolate Nutella mousse.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Guests enjoyed wine samples at the Whole Foods VIP happy hour with sommelier Devon Broglie.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Ophelia's crawfish and grits cakes.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Bartender of the Year nominee Madelyn Kay of Vox Table.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- San Antonio's Brigid served foie gras torchon.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Stacey Hubrath, Josh Arseneau, and Emily Arseneau.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Bartender of the Year winner Justin Elliott's special concoction, which won the People's Choice cocktail.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Kim Adams and Meredith Schneider.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Restaurant of the Year nominee Spun creates some of its amazing ice cram dishes.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Jenny Woys and Franklyn Gould.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- The ladies of the truth booth provided guests with honest reviews of their appearances.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Matt Schwartz and Daryn Gordon.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Hank Morris and Mallory Harnden.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Meredith Williams, Lizzy Jarvis, Alston Nuckols, and Motorola Rick.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Chee Sin and Ben Zweig try out the GIF photo booth from My Event is the Bomb.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Pieter and Susan Sypesteyn.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Matt Weatherly and Rachel McDonald.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Guests who posed in Kellie's Baking Co. Instacookie Photobooth received cookies with photos printed on them.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Tastemaker emcee and Texas chef Tim Love.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Bartender of the Year winner Justin Elliott of The Townsend accepts his award.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- The team from Oasthouse Kitchen + Bar, winners of Austin's Best New Restaurant award.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Diego Galicia and Rico Torres from San Antonio's Mixtli pose with their Restaurant of the Year award.Photo by Shelley Neuman
- Restaurant of the Year winner, Dai Due.Photo by Shelley Neuman
