Israeli-American Chef Wins James Beard Award
James Beard Award-winning chef Alon Shaya.
Israeli-American chef Alon Shaya was named best chef in the South by the James Beard Foundation.
Shaya, 37, broke through as the winner after being a finalist in the category for the past three years.
He was recognized for his work as the executive chef at the Domenica restaurant in New Orleans, which he opened in 2009 with the prominent chef and restaurateur John Besh. His newly opened Shaya restaurant in the same city offers an Israeli-inspired menu using local ingredients.
Shaya moved with his family from Israel to Philadelphia when he was four years old. He attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO