Canlis chef Brady Williams wins Best Chef in the Northwest at the James Beard Awards
Brady Williams of Seattle’s storied Canlis won the biggest culinary award of his young career Monday night when he was named Best Chef in the Northwest at the James Beard Foundation Awards.
“I’m just incredibly overwhelmed right now,” the 32-year-old Williams said in a phone interview shortly after the gala at Chicago’s Lyric Opera. “I am so excited. It is a restaurant award, as much a Canlis family award, as it is mine. This is insane. I am still processing all of this.”
The James Beard Awards are considered the Oscars of the culinary world, and this year, Seattle chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi of Joule were also in the running for Best Chef: Northwest, along with Portland chefs Peter Cho of Han Oak, Katy Millard of Coquine and Justin Woodward of Castagna.
“When they read that name out loud, it was such an overwhelming moment,” said restaurant co-owner Mark Canlis, who was four seats away from his chef at the gala. “We were like, ‘Yes. Yes.’ It is his moment to shine. He has worked so hard for it and has come so far … He has restored Canlis to the glories of the old days.”
The Canlis staff was in a meeting getting ready for dinner service when the finalists for Best Chef: Northwest were announced on the live stream of the Beard Awards gala.
“We stopped our meeting and watched. It was jubilation — yelling and screaming and clapping and then it was back to work,” said Canlis’ director of service, Jeff Robinson. “We are all proud of Brady. He has given this restaurant so much. He is more than a chef; he is a leader both in the dining room and in the kitchen. This is exciting for us.”
Williams’ win marks the second consecutive year a Seattle chef has taken home the James Beard medal for Best Chef in the Northwest. Edouardo Jordan won in 2018, when his Southern star JuneBaby was also named Best New Restaurant in the country.
Canlis was a finalist for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Service this year, but it ultimately lost in that category to Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado.