Dean Fearing (left) and Nick Badovinus (The Robb Report)
Two years ago, the California-based luxury magazine the Robb Report launched an event whereby five chefs were chosen to compete, at a series of dinners, for the title of “culinary master.” The magazine asked five of the “world’s greatest” chefs to nominate the young chef the senior chef felt was the most talented artist of the next generation.
This year’s group of ten — five world-renowned chefs and their nominees — include two from Dallas: Dean Fearing selected Nick Badovinus. The other pairs are Pierre Gagnaire, who chose Jean-Marc Boyer; Wolfgang Puck, who chose Josef Centeno; David Bouley, who chose Yoshiaki Takazawa and Nancy Oakes, who chose Nicolas Delaroque. (Full disclosure: As an occasional contributor to the Robb Report, I wrote the Gagnaire-Boyer match-up piece.) The competition takes the form of a series of five-course charity dinners, with proceeds going to the charity of the nominating chef’s choice.
Following David Lyon’s introduction in the piece about Fearing and Badovinus, there’s a lively dialogue between chefs Fearing and Badovinus that includes some fun Dallas culinary history and meaty discussion of Modern Texas cuisine. So nice to see these two Dallas talents tapped for this prestigious competition. Congratulations to both, and good luck to chef Badovinus.