Original article by Eric Velasco for Birmingham Watch
This year marked a rare occurrence. No metro Birmingham chef or restaurant made the finalist list for a James Beard Award, the most prestigious plaudits in the American food-service industry.
Local chefs and eateries have earned nominations or won outright in 22 of the past 27 Beard Awards, led by legendary Birmingham chef Frank Stitt and his flagship restaurant, Highlands Bar and Grill.
The most recent winner is Adam Evans, co-owner of the Southside restaurant Automatic Seafood and Oysters, who was named Best Chef: South in 2022. Birmingham Beard nominees and winners also include bars, wine shops and media.
Picked by industry peers, Beard Award-winning restaurants and chefs are a local point of pride. They also draw savvy travelers and the food obsessed, along with positive media attention.
Birmingham’s restaurant scene is helping change outside perceptions. Once dismissively nicknamed “Bombingham” for its deadly violence during the Civil Rights Movement, today’s city officials brand Birmingham as “the dining destination of the South.” Food is a calling card.
“We’re starting to combat the narrative that we’re stuck in 1963,” said Cornell Wesley, head of the city’s Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity. “The two things that contribute the most to the rest of the country taking notice is sports and entertainment, and our food scene. There is a direct correlation not only to tourism but also business attraction and expansion.”
The Food + Culture festival, a four-day celebration built around chefs and mixologists that began Thursday, spotlights the role Birmingham’s restaurants play not only in local life but also in the city’s $2.5 billion tourism industry. Last year, the area drew nearly 4 million overnight visitors, according to the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. The inaugural edition of Food + Culture last year attracted people from 18 states and Canada, and USA Today named it the nation’s third-best new fest…