St. John’s own Rebecca Barron ranks among nationally known chefs
After seeing some exciting news about a fellow Chattanoogan, I decided to take a last-minute 180 and change the topic of today’s story to discuss her good news and how it affects the Scenic City and its budding scène de la gastronomie.
I’m going to spend a bit of time talking about an old man who seemingly has nothing to do with Chattanooga and about what his legacy means for our friend and our grumbly tummies.
That old man, named James Beard, died ten months before I was born, yet his legacy carries on, a quintessential hero of American gastronomy, and the inspiration for countless chefs, gourmands, restauranteurs, and sommeliers across the country.
One of those chefs is Rebecca Barron, known by any seeker of deliciousness as one of the cities preeminent kitchen masters.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Chef Barron for a story last year; I was immediately taken with her expansive passion for perfection and technique-driven cooking. Since then I tricked her into letting me spend time in her kitchen, watching her work and create, attempting to learn and absorb everything I could from her and her excellent team in hopes of one day cooking a decent meal of my own.
Mostly, I succeeded at being in the way, like a pebble thrown into a well-oiled machine, always occupying the exact space where someone else needed to be and stealing bites of food while nobody was looking. The success of that machine is the success of a chef. So much more than simply putting properly cooked food on a plate, the charge of an executive chef is to polish the bigger picture. To make the kitchen work together as a seamless whole, from sourcing ingredients to the finished bite. This skill is where Barron’s expertise sets her apart.
Her work invokes the same precision as a master craftsperson; like a carpenter methodically sanding a sailboat plank or a welder laying a perfect bead. As it turns out, I have not been the only one watching Chef’s mastery. The spirit of James Beard, embodied in the foundation under his name, has been watching too. The James Beard Foundation hosts an annual awards ceremony recognizing the best on offer from the culinary world.
Chef Rebecca Barron has made the list as a semi-finalist for the Best Chef: Southeast category. The James Beard awards are on par with other prestigious accolades such as the Tony’s and the Emmy awards. It is, without a doubt, a very big deal. To win such an award is a massive validation of the life’s work of a chef. To be nominated is an award in and of its own, but in the shadow of larger cities like Atlanta and Nashville, Chattanooga currently has zero of these coveted trophies.
“The James Beard nomination shows that Chattanooga is a contender in the culinary world,” says Michelle Richards, General Manager and Sommelier of St. John’s. And a contender it is. As we steadily become more of a destination food city, the nomination speaks volumes on Chattanooga’s progressive state-of-cuisine.
“When I was young, I read James Beard’s ‘Delights and Prejudices’. I loved reading about his enormous appetite—for life and for food,” reminisces Barron. She has spent her life in the kitchen and has found a path of dedication and success that most people never achieve, despite their chosen profession.
“From the time I knew what a James Beard award was, I knew I wanted one!” she goes on. But the award, if she wins it, will not make her a better chef. She is already one of the greats.