(CBS-DETROIT) – This year’s James Beard Award ceremony is next week and two nominees from Michigan are in the running for the prestigious culinary award.
Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere, a husband and wife duo who own Baobab Fare, are among the finalists in the Outstanding Restaurateur category.
The couple fled Burundi about a decade ago and faced a difficult road as refugees trying to open a business in the U.S.
Their East African restaurant serves kuku, fried chicken in a spicy mustard-onion sauce that is served with fried plantains, stewed yellow beans and coconut rice.
They are no strangers to seeing success in the culinary world, and Mamba even competed on an episode of Food Network’s “Chopped” last year, winning and donating the money to Freedom House Detroit and Burundi Kids. Freedom House Detroit is special to the couple as it was Nijimbere’s first home when she arrived in the US in 2013.
Mamba says inspiring refugees is a big deal for him and his wife.
“We inspire a lot of refugees – refugees who come to this country without hope and think one day they can win these kinds of titles,” Mamba said. “It’s a big deal for us because we want to show people that this world can be equal.”
A chef from Metro Detroit has also been nominated for best chef in the Great Lakes region, a category that also includes chefs from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
Hajime Sato from Sozai has a chance to win the prize in this category. Sozai is a sustainable sushi restaurant in Clawson. Although the restaurant serves ingredients from around the world, it also places an emphasis on local ingredients.
“We are excited to share ingredients from around the world, but we have a special appreciation for the ingredients we source from local farms and fisheries,” according to the restaurant’s website. “Sozai prides itself on serving sustainable sushi, with close monitoring of traceability, fish populations, fishing methods and farming practices.”
Sato was one of five Metro Detroit chefs named as semifinalists for this category, joining Doug Hewitt of Detroit’s Freya, Ji Hye Kim of Ann Arbor’s Miss Kim, Dan Klenotic of Bellflower in Ypsilanti and John Yelinek of Ladder 4 Wine Bar in Detroit.
Other local semi-finalists including Dearborn’s Shatila Bakery and AlTayeb Restaurant, along with Alpino, Nepantla Café and Selden Standard in Detroit and more.
The 2024 James Beard Award winners will be announced June 10 at a ceremony at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
Restaurants ask for the prizes and then the judges, who usually remain anonymous, try the cuisine before voting.
Nominees are judged not only on the food they serve, but also on a code of ethical conduct, including the way employees are treated.
In addition to these nominations, Detroit Free Press Restaurant critic Lyndsay C. Green was nominated for a James Beard Media Award, including nominees in the book, broadcast media and journalism categories.
“The James Beard Media Awards shine a light on the exceptional storytellers whose work has the transformative potential to educate, inspire and foster connection through a shared love of food,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees on this remarkable achievement. Your work creates a deeper understanding of and richer connection to our country’s food culture.”
The winners of these awards will be announced at a ceremony on June 8 at the Columbia College Chicago Student Center, hosted by Michelle Miller, co-host of CBS Saturday Morning.
