Awards

Accarrino, Skenes, and MacNaughton Honored as StarChefs Rising Stars

Flour + Water's MacNaughton gets a nod.
Flour + Water’s MacNaughton gets a nod. Photo: Courtesy of Flour + Water.

It’s a season of lists! And this one may not be quite as prestigious as the Food & Wine Best New Chefs or the Beard Awards — which are coming up on May 3, by the way — but StarChefs.com does their own Rising Star Awards recognizing chefs, pastry chefs, sommeliers, restaurateurs, and mixologists. Each year, they dole out prizes and host a Rising Stars Revue in a different group of cities, and San Francisco hasn’t been in the mix since 2007.

This year’s list includes a number of multiply honored names, including a couple of Chron Rising Stars (Manresa’s John Paul Carmona, and Saison’s Josh Skenes, who falls in the ‘Concept’ category). Scott Nishiyama gets some early recognition for his four-month stint at Chez TJ. And we’re happy to see the very knowledgeable and friendly Sarah Valor be recognized for her work as sommelier at Commis — chef James Syhabout, a recent F&W; honoree, got this nod in 2007.

Below, the full list of 2010 Rising Stars. If you want to attend the Revue on June 16, get tickets here.

Chefs
Matthew Accarrino, SPQR
John Paul Carmona, Manresa
Maximilian DiMare, Wood Tavern
Louis Maldonado, Aziza
Thomas McNaughton, Flour + Water
Scott Nishiyama, Chez TJ

Pastry Chefs
Melissa Chou, Aziza
Catherine Schimenti, Michael Mina

Mixologists
Erick Castro, Rickhouse
Brian MacGregor, Jardinière

Sommelier
Sarah Valor, Commis

Concept
Joshua Skenes, Saison

Restaurateur

Shelley Lindgren, A16 and SPQR

Hotel Chef
Josh Thomsen, The Claremont Hotel Club & Spa

Accarrino, Skenes, and MacNaughton Honored as StarChefs Rising Stars