These Are the 11 ‘Best’ New Chefs in America

Each year, editors from Food & Wine magazine taste their way across the country in search of the women and men cooking the most delicious, creative food. (Tough job, we know.)

The results are in, and this year’s picks—nominated by restaurant critics, food writers and other experts, then selected by editors—come from restaurants in nine cities. They’re chosen for their creativity, talent and relative rookie status: none have been in charge of a kitchen for more than five years.

Listed in alphabetical order, here are 11 of the best new chefs cooking today, as named by Food & Wine, which, like TIME, is owned by Time Inc.

David Barzelay

Restaurant: Lazy Bear, San Francisco

Age: 33

Favorite food: Country ham. “It is a uniquely American product that is delicious and complex on its own, whether eaten as crudo or baked, but is also great with vegetables.”

Kevin Fink

Restaurant: Emmer & Rye, Austin

Age: 31

Favorite food: Pasta, for the simplest of reasons. “The chew of the noodle, how it adheres to the sauce properly, how the noodle itself tastes. Something that can be so refined is also so homey. We crave it when we are young, old and every age in-between.”

Michael Gulotta

Restaurant: MoPho, New Orleans

Age: 35

Favorite food: Changes with the seasons. “But if I must have a top pick, it would be grillades and grits, followed by really ripe peaches or satsumas.”

Edouardo Jordan

Restaurant: Salare, Seattle

Age: 35

Favorite food: Yogurt for breakfast; hamburgers for dinner

Ravi Kapur

Restaurant: Liholiho Yacht Club, San Francisco

Age: 39

Favorite food: Dim sum. “I am an admirer of Chinese cuisine—def my all time fave. Japanese and Korean right behind that.”

Brad Kilgore

Restaurant: Alter, Miami

Age: 30

Favorite food: Pasta—especially fettuccini bolognese

Iliana Regan

Restaurant: Elizabeth, Chicago

Age: 36

Favorite food: Raspberries (but never passes up octopus on a menu). “And hen of the woods mushrooms, breaded and shallow fried in butter!”

Aaron Silverman

Restaurant: Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.

Age: 34

Favorite food: “Peking duck!”

Fabian von Hauske and Jeremiah Stone

Restaurant: Contra/Wildair, New York City

Age: 26 (von Hauske, on left); 31 (Stone, on right)

Favorite food: Chilaquiles; pizza

Kris Yenbamroong

Restaurant: Night + Market, Los Angeles

Age: 33

Favorite food: Fried chicken. “My favorite spot is a family-run stall in one of the wet markets in Chiang Rai. I’ve spent a good amount of time hounding them for the recipe, and I think that after a few years of tinkering, I’ve finally figured it out. I call them out by name on our menu too, since we do it in tribute to them: It’s crunchy, salty, fatty, and pretty much the best drinking food.”