Hosted by WCCO’s Jamie Yuccas and Michelle Gayer of the Salty Tart, Sunday’s fourth-annual Charlie Awards ceremony at the Pantages Theatre included the acceptance speeches, videos (Yelp reviews are that much funnier when professional actors do dramatic readings), and musical performances.
The surprise of the evening was a percussion piece by the Taste Buds, a group of local chefs including Ann Kim, Tyler Shipton, and Thomas Boemer led by Chico Perez of world pop band New Primitives. In lieu of drums and tambourines, the food pros banged spoons against sheet pans and crashed pizza pans like cymbals, much to the delight of the audience.
It was a big night for all of the honorees, especially Corner Table (chef Thomas Boemer won the award for Emerging Food Professional, and the restaurant itself took the prize for Outstanding Restaurant Service) and Jester Concepts (bar director Jesse Held won for Outstanding Bartender, and Coup d’Etat took Outstanding Restaurant Design). See below for a complete listing of the winners, and remember to honor thy food all year long.
Outstanding Design: Coup d’Etat
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Jon Kraus, Patisserie 46
Outstanding Service: Corner Table
Community Hero: Vincent Francoual, Vincent
Outstanding Beverage Program: Butcher & the Boar
Outstanding Food Truck: Moral Omnivore
Outstanding Local Brew: Westside IPA, Harriet Brewery
Outstanding Bartender: Jesse Held, Parlour, Coup d’Etat
Outstanding Menu Item: “The Grill Charlie’s,” two tenderloin sliders with béarnaise from the St. Paul Grill
Outstanding Restaurant: Brasserie Zentral
Emerging Food Professional: Thomas Boemer, Corner Table
Outstanding Chef: Alex Roberts
Lifetime Achievement: Kim Bartmann