Emmanuel Chavez of Houston restaurant Tatemó named as finalist for 2024 James Beard Award
Chavez, 34, is in the running for Best Chef in Texas. Last year Tatemó was a finalist for Best New Restaurant, a nationwide category. Houston chef Emmanuel Chavez, who runs a tortilla-making business and sells his product at a farmers market, has been named a finalist for the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef in Texas. Last year, his Mexican restaurant, Tatemó, was named Best New Restaurant in a nationwide category. The only Houston-area finalist this year is Christopher Cullum of Cullum's Attaboy in San Antonio, Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, Misti Norris of Petra & the Beast in Dallas, and Ana Luz Pulido of Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission. Chavez believes that recognition could bring more people to his restaurant and create more job opportunities for his community.
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Chavez, 34, is in the running for Best Chef in Texas. Last year Tatemó was a finalist for Best New Restaurant, a nationwide category.
In 2020, before he had his own restaurant, Houston chef Emmanuel Chavez ran a tortilla-making business and sold his product at a local farmers market. He said he once had a customer who, while purchasing some of his corn tortillas, scoffed at how much they cost and told Chavez his efforts would not amount to much.
"He was basically telling us to f— off, that we weren't going to be able to actually accomplish anything, because we were selling tortillas for 77 cents apiece when you can go to the store and buy 120 for one dollar," Chavez recalled. "I remember him literally grabbing money out of his pocket and throwing it to us at the table in disgust of how much we were charging."
Chavez thought about that critical customer on Wednesday, just like he has when other honors have been bestowed upon him and Tatemó, the Mexican restaurant he owns at 4740 Dacoma St. Suite F in the Spring Branch area. The 34-year-old chef was named a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef in Texas, a year after Tatemó was a finalist in the national category of Best New Restaurant.
Chavez was deflective about the latest recognition, saying attention "comes just as fast as it goes" and that again being up for one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary world "doesn't make us better than anyone." It could bring more people to his restaurant and ultimately allow him to provide more job opportunities for his community, he said.
The only James Beard Award finalist from the Houston area this year – the region had 11 semifinalists – also acknowledged that winning would be "incredible." Chavez attended last year's awards ceremony in Chicago, where he celebrated the Best Chef in Texas honor given to Benchawan Jabthong Painter of Houston Thai restaurant Street to Kitchen.
This year's awards ceremony is scheduled for June 10 in Chicago. The other finalists for Best Chef in Texas are Christopher Cullum of Cullum's Attaboy in San Antonio, Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, Misti Norris of Petra & the Beast in Dallas and Ana Luz Pulido of Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, with Chavez calling them all "powerhouses."
"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be," he said. "To be able to represent our city on that stage two years in a row, that would be a huge accomplishment for us. Hopefully, we motivate the next generation of small businesses and chefs to pursue that as well."
Chavez calls himself a "Houstonian at heart," having moved to the city at age 9 from his native Mexico. He left Houston at age 25 for a four-year stint in Seattle before moving back with the goal of opening his own restaurant.
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Chavez worked toward that objective with his aforementioned masa- and tortilla-making business, which allowed him to grow a following and experiment as a chef. He opened Tatemó in 2022.
The restaurant, which is open for a dinnertime tasting menu on Wednesday through Saturday by reservation only, focuses on the "three basic ingredients that define Mexican cuisine to its core," Chavez said. Those are squash, beans and maize, which is a byproduct of corn.
Chavez said he would now laugh at the man who questioned his budding business four years ago, adding that there would be nothing else to say because the "restaurant speaks for itself."
"We just want to thank everybody who has supported us and the ones that haven't supported us either," Chavez said. "We hope to make our city proud in June."
주제: Food & Drink