The James Beard Awards are like the Oscars for restaurants and chefs. And just like watching the Oscars, you get to see the shock and excitement when a winner is announced and they deliver one of those heartfelt acceptance speeches.
For Chef Henry Lu, it was “an out-of-body experience” when he and Chef Evelyn Garcia won the “Best Chef: Texas” category for their Heights restaurant JŪN last month.
Opened in 2023, the restaurant was a James Beard finalist just a year later for “Best New Restaurant” for its inventive nods to Garcia’s Salvadoran and Mexican heritage and Lu’s Southeast Asian culinary roots…