Milwaukee chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite of EsterEv named 2024 James Beard Award finalists
We’re one step closer to learning who will win a coveted James Beard Award, considered the Oscars of the food world, but only two chefs in Wisconsin have made the finalist round.
Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite of EsterEv (coming soon to Bay View) were named finalists in the category of Best Chef: Midwest on Wednesday morning. The category encompasses restaurants located in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The chefs opened EsterEv, a fine-dining tasting menu concept restaurant, in 2016. It's temporarily closed as it moves from its digs inside sister restaurant DanDan, 316 E. Erie St., to 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. this month.
Jacobs is a current competitor on “Top Chef: Wisconsin,” the cooking competition show that was taped between Milwaukee and Madison late last summer and premiered on Bravo in March.
Though just two chefs working in Wisconsin made the finalist round, 11 chefs and one restaurant in Wisconsin were selected as semifinalists for the James Beard Awards in February.
Another 2024 James Beard Award finalist has ties to Wisconsin. Anna Posey, a Bayside native who serves as Executive Pastry Chef at Elske, the restaurant she runs with her husband, David Posey, has been named a finalist in the national category of Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
The winners of the James Beard Awards will be announced June 10 in Chicago.
The full list of finalists can be found at the foundation's website, jamesbeard.org.
Rachel Bernhard joined the Journal Sentinel as dining critic in June 2023. She’s been busy exploring the Milwaukee area food scene to share her favorite finds with readers along the way. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.
What should she cover next? Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @rachelbernhard or on Instagram at @rach.eats.mke.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite named 2024 James Beard Award finalists
