The James Beard Foundation, the culinary organization known for its awards honoring restaurants and chefs across America, named Chris Hoffmann, the chef and owner of Clyde’s Fine Diner in the East Village in Des Moines, a semifinalist for Best Chef Midwest.
The organization announced its long list of nominees on Wednesday morning. Many in the hospitality industry consider the awards among the highest praise American restaurants and chefs can receive.
Hoffmann, the only nominee from Iowa, opened Clyde’s Fine Diner in 2019. He named the restaurant for his grandfather Clyde on his mother’s side. Some of his earliest memories include cooking breakfast with him, he told the Des Moines Register in 2019.
The restaurant offers an elevated take on diner fare. Diners can find steak frites, mushroom ragu, a pork loin chop and fried chicken with a side of Sichuan sauce as entrees, along with the CFD burger, one of the best in the city.
Clyde’s Fine Diner is on the essential restaurants list from the Des Moines Register as well.