New top chef is farm-to-table cook focusing on American seasonal

Dan Barber, a pioneer of the so-called farm-to-table restaurant movement, snagged the James Beard Foundation's top chef honor at the annual awards ceremony earlier this month in New York.

Barber was lauded for using his New York restaurants - Blue Hill New York and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills - to highlight the difference seasonal and sustainable agriculture can make on the plate.

Barber says he sees his cooking - which he calls American seasonal - as an effort to raise awareness about everyday food choices. 

At Stone Barns, which is set on a working farm, the menu is a simple list of fresh ingredients.

When accepting the award, Barber recalled the time he told his father he wanted to become a chef. He said his father responded with, "Son, why?"

"I said, 'Because I really love food.' And then there was like a really long pause," Barber said. Then his father said, "I love books but I don't read for a living."

The James Beard awards are considered the Oscars of the food world, and honor those who follow in the footsteps of Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985.

Barber's award comes at a time when much is being made of the importance of reconnecting Americans with food at its source. For example, first lady Michelle Obama recently planted a vegetable garden at the White House, a move long sought by proponents of sustainable agriculture.

Michael Pollan, a vocal critic of conventional agriculture, got a similar nod from the foundation Monday. His "In Defense of Food," an examination of the American diet and food system, won a Beard book award.

Last year's top chef, Grant Achatz, won a book award this year for "Alinea," a cookbook based on his Chicago restaurant of the same name. The book won the professional cooking category.

After a strong showing last year, Chicago chefs came away empty-handed this year. However, the foundation recognized 2004 James Beard winner Paul Kahan and his newest venture, The Publican, 837 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, for outstanding restaurant design.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's New York restaurant Jean George was honored as the nation's top restaurant.