Edouardo Jordan accepted not one, but two James Beard awards Monday night. Jordan will return to Seattle with awards for Best New Restaurant for JuneBaby, and Best Chef: Northwest for Salare.
Jordan is the first African-American chef to take home the award for Best New Restaurant, according to the New York Times.
The James Beard Foundation Awards, held in Chicago, honors chefs and restaurants in the food industry.
Jordan accepted the award for Best New Restaurant on stage alongside members of the JuneBaby staff. "Mom I love you. I thank you for putting a knife in my hand and a cookbook in my hand, some 30 years ago," Jordan said during his speech. While accepting the award for Best New Restaurant, Jordan dedicated the award to his 4-year-old son. "I want you to dream big, my little star. We're making history tonight and daddy wants you to know that if you can dream it you can achieve it. The future is yours, but don't forget the past," he said.JuneBaby and Salare are both located in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood.JuneBaby bills itself as food with roots, dishes that trace back to when West Africans were taken from their homes and forced to come to North America.Jordan and his team try to challenge assumptions that soul food is inferior, unsophisticated and unhealthy. Instead, presenting it is a cuisine to be respected and celebrated.WATCH: Evening's profile of chef Edouardo Jordan in 2016
