Jordan, Edouardo
1983–Present · Contribution: 2015-2021
Chef
Became, in 2018, the first African American chef to win the James Beard Foundation's Best New Restaurant award for JuneBaby; closed both of his Seattle restaurants in 2021 after a Seattle Times investigation detailed credible sexual misconduct allegations from 15 women, corroborated by 28 people in total
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1980
- Active since
- 2015
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- First Black Best New Restaurant winnerJuneBaby & SalareLater misconduct findings
Impact on the world
Jordan reached a historic first for Black chefs and used the moment to honor those who came before him. His later fall, amid credible misconduct findings, is an inseparable part of the record.
Sources
- Seattle Times
6 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Clark, Patrick Dean
1955-1998
First Black chef to win a James Beard Foundation Best Chef award; helped pioneer New American cuisine and the fusion of fine dining with casual bistro service; one of four candidates considered for White House chef under President Clinton
Scott, Rodney
1971-
Only the second pitmaster ever to win a James Beard Foundation chef award, named Best Chef: Southeast in 2018; began cooking whole hog barbecue at his family's South Carolina restaurant at age 11 and authored the first cookbook published by a Black pitmaster
Compton, Nina
1978-Present
Won the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: South award in 2018 for Compère Lapin, her acclaimed New Orleans restaurant blending Caribbean, French, and Italian technique with Gulf Coast ingredients; daughter of Saint Lucia's three-time Prime Minister
Miles, Dolester 'Dol'
1957-
Named the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2018 after three prior nominations; longtime executive pastry chef at Birmingham's Highlands Bar and Grill, an Alabama institution recognized as the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Restaurant the same year