BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – They’re the Oscars of the food industry, and people and places in our region are now one step closer to winning one.
The semifinalists in the 2024 James Beard Awards were announced last month. Micah Tavelli of Paradiso HiFi and Cara Tobin at Honey Road were nominated for Best Chef in the Northeast. The Barr Hill Cocktail Bar in Montpelier made the list for Outstanding Bar. Kristina Zontini at Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, was named for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. WCAX is visiting all of them in the coming weeks.
Love is in the air and ricotta tortello is on the Valentine’s Day menu at Paradiso HiFi in Burlington.
Executive Chef Micah Tavelli says the dough recipe is simple– egg yolks and 00 flour. The filling also highlights just a few ingredients.
“It’s just ricotta whipped with a little bit of olive oil and a bit of vinegar,” Tavelli said.
But with each pasta piece crafted by hand, Tavelli says they’re focused on quality over quantity.
“I think that the amount of love that goes into the food here is definitely shown on the plate,” he said.
Tavelli is feeling the love from some of the top food critics in the country awarding him his first James Beard semifinalist nomination for Best Chef Northeast.
“It’s been pretty crazy. The reaction was a lot of emotions. Luckily, I got to hear it from my fiancee before I heard it from anyone else, so I had a nice cry, her and I together– like happy tears,” he said.
Reporter Cat Viglienzoni: And were you surprised at all that you were nominated?
Chef Micah Tavelli: Oh super surprised. Like we have talked about it a lot since we opened that a goal of ours was to get nominated. But I didn’t think that we were going to do it year one.
He credits their swift success to his team and their focus on hospitality and local fare. He describes their menu as modern New England, showcasing what local farms have on hand that season.
“That can be difficult in the winter so we’ve learned how to cook beets a lot of different ways for sure,” Tavelli said.
He says he likes the challenge of a constantly changing menu. And like the vinyl playlists they’re known for crafting, their menu is a collaborative effort, too.
“We try recipes, we taste recipes. If we like them, they move forward. If we don’t, we go back to the drawing board and start again,” Tavelli said.
He says they’re the busiest they’ve ever been now, in part, because of the nomination. He says reservations are up 50% since the announcement, and walk-ins, too.
“We’re all in pretty high gear and we’re pushing for the finalist spot right now, but I’m not going to hold my breath, you know? I’ll be excited if it happens, but right now we’re just happy with where we’re at,” Tavelli said.
He’ll find out in early April.
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