Derek Bray and his staff at The Table in Tacoma are still wrapping their heads around the news they received on an otherwise typical winter morning in late January, but they did scribble an important note on the chalkboard wall outside the entrance to the Sixth Avenue restaurant: “James Beard Baby!”
The chef and owner was nominated for the 2024 James Beard Foundation’s awards in the Best Chef: Pacific and Northwest category. He joins 19 of his peers in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii on the semifinalist list that on April 3 will be trimmed to five finalists. The process culminates in a ceremony in Chicago on June 10.
It’s a big moment for Bray — who studied painting and sculpture in college only to fall in love with restaurants flipping burgers at a bar — and the team that day in and day out shapes his humble, hyper-seasonal eatery that will turn 10 next year.
It’s also a big moment for Tacoma.
“As a staff overall we’re still kind of like, ‘Ok… really?’” joked Bray, 37, whose nod makes him the city’s first nominee in any category since the awards debuted in 1990.