Phoenix chef Rene Andrade wins 2024 James Beard Award with emotional speech: 'We're here'

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of its 2024 awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday honoring the best in the nation's culinary arts. That included Arizona's Rene Andrade, who won Best Chef — Southwest. Tucson-based author Gary Nabhan won a James Beard media award in a separate ceremony on June 8.

It was a comeback year for the Grand Canyon State. Though Arizona brought home two Beard awards in 2022 when Don Guerra won Outstanding Baker and Chris Bianco Outstanding Restaurateur, none of its 2023 semifinalists made it to the finals.

In 2024, two Phoenix chefs rose to the finalist ranks: Crystal Kass for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker and Rene Andrade for Best Chef — Southwest. Marcus Samuelsson, Amanda Freitag, Richard Blais and Nyesha Arrington hosted the June 10 ceremony.

Rene Andrade won Best Chef — Southwest Award

This was not the first nomination for Andrade. His restaurant, Bacanora, was a 2022 finalist for Best New Restaurant and he was also a semifinalist for Best Chef — Southwest in 2023.

In his acceptance speech, Andrade talked about growing up in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. He shouted out his parents and grandmother, whose cooking was "the representation of magic to me," he said. Watching her cook with love made him think, "Quiero ser ella. And here we are, 2024."

He spoke about opening his restaurants, starting in 2020 with Bacanora. "It’s just love that we get to be in this amazing community.”

Andrade shared inspiring words in Spanish about continuing to fight and loving his culture. He ended with: "I’m here. We’re here. Thank you, everybody. Puro amor. Appreciate you.”

Details: 1301 Grand Ave., Unit 1, Phoenix. 602-612-4018, instagram.com/bacanoraphx.

Gary Paul Nabhan won a Book Award

Nabhan, who holds a doctorate in the interdisciplinary arid lands resource sciences from University of Arizona, is an ethnobiologist, conservation biologist, agroecologist and cultural geographer and the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Southwest Borderlands Food and Water Security. He co-founded Native Seeds Search, a nonprofit organization dedicated to resurfacing and preserving seeds native to the Southwest desert and Mexico.

His book, "Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals," which he coauthored with David Suro Pi?era, received a James Beard Book Award in the Beverage without Recipes category.

'This is what I love:' Meet Crystal Kass, the Phoenix pastry chef making Arizona history

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rene Andrade of Phoenix's Bacanora, Huarachis wins James Beard Award