James Beard finalists include East African eatery in Detroit, sustainable sushi restaurant in Clawson
(CBS DETROIT) - This year's James Beard Award ceremony is June 10, and two Michigan nominees are up for the prestigious culinary award.
Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere, a husband-and-wife duo who own Baobab Fare, are among the finalists in the Outstanding Restaurateur category.
The couple fled Burundi about a decade ago and faced a difficult road as refugees trying to open a business in the U.S.
Their East African restaurant serves kuku, pan-fried chicken in a tangy mustard-onion sauce that's served with fried plantains, stewed yellow beans and coconut rice.
They are no strangers to seeing success in the culinary world, and Mamba even competed on an episode of Food Network's "Chopped" last year, won and donated the funds to Freedom House Detroit and Burundi Kids. Freedom House Detroit is special to the couple, as it was Nijimbere's first home when she arrived in the U.S. in 2013.
Mamba says inspiring refugees is a big deal for him and his wife.
"We inspire a lot of refugees — refugees who are coming to this country without hope and one day thinking that they can win this kind of title," Mamba said. "It's a big deal for us because we want to show people that this world can be equal."
A Metro Detroit chef has also been nominated for Best Chef in the Great Lakes region, a category that includes chefs from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Hajime Sato, of Sozai, is up for the award in this category. Sozai is a sustainable sushi restaurant in Clawson. While the restaurant serves ingredients from around the world, it also places a focus on local ingredients.
"We are delighted to share ingredients from around the globe, but we have a special appreciation for those we source from local farms and fisheries," according to the restaurant's website. "Sozai is proud to serve sustainable sushi with a close eye on traceability, fish populations, fishing methods, and farming practices."
Sato was one of the five Metro Detroit chefs named as semifinalists for this category, alongside Doug Hewitt of Detroit's Freya, Ji Hye Kim of Ann Arbor's Miss Kim, Dan Klenotic of Bellflower in Ypsilanti and John Yelinek of Ladder 4 Wine Bar in Detroit.
Other local semifinalists included Dearborn's Shatila Bakery and AlTayeb Restaurant, along with Alpino, Nepantla Café and Selden Standard in Detroit and more.
The 2024 James Beard Award winners will be announced on June 10 at a ceremony held at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
Restaurants apply for the awards and then judges, who mostly remain anonymous, try the cuisine before voting.
Nominees are not only reviewed for the food they serve, but also for a behavioral "code of ethics," including how employees are treated.
In addition to these nominations, the Detroit Free Press Restaurant Critic Lyndsay C. Green was nominated for a James Beard Media Award, which includes nominees for book, broadcast media and journalism categories.
"The James Beard Media Awards shine a light on the exceptional storytellers whose work has the transformative potential to educate, inspire, and foster connection through a shared love of food," said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation. "Congratulations to this year's nominees on this remarkable achievement. Your work engenders a deeper understanding of and richer connection to our country's food culture."
Winners for these awards were announced during a ceremony on June 8 at the Columbia College Chicago Student Center.