A downtown Evanston street lined with mid-rise buildings. Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, CA, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Nicole Pederson, the chef at Found in Evanston, was among the contenders in the Great Lakes region for Food & Wine magazine’s 2015 People’s Best New Chef, a reader vote that runs alongside the magazine’s own Best New Chefs list.
The public vote spans ten regions, from California to the Southwest, and readers pick a favorite for each. Online voting for the 2015 contest was open through April 8, with winners to be announced April 9. Voters could cast ballots from more than one device.
The Great Lakes field
Pederson shared the regional ballot with a mix of Chicago-area and Midwest cooks, among them Jake Bickelhaupt, Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Iliana Regan, Lee Wolen, Erling Wu-Bower and James Rigato. Food & Wine published its contender profiles April 1.
What the magazine said
The profile of Pederson, who cooks at Found, 1631 Chicago Ave., described her approach as updating comfort-food favorites with global flavors such as harissa, za’atar and garam masala. It named roasted squash and Brussels sprouts with house-made harissa, cilantro and pepitas as her quintessential dish. It also noted that she helped cook President Obama’s first state dinner.
Her earlier kitchens, according to the profile, were C-House and Lula Cafe in Chicago and Gramercy Tavern in New York City.
A busy weekend at Found
The vote came as the restaurant prepared for Easter Sunday on April 5, when it planned a family-style brunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at $38 per person and $18 for children, followed by regular dinner hours. Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl was among those who voted for Pederson online.
The Easter menu leaned on the same instincts. Found planned pan-roasted salmon, smoked ham and a kale and Swiss chard salad for the family-style spread, with the usual a la carte menu back for Sunday dinner from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Eater Chicago had already named Found one of the 28 best Easter brunch spots in the Chicago area, so the restaurant went into the holiday weekend with attention from both the voting public and the local food press.
Results had not been announced when this was written.
Based on Food & Wine’s People’s Best New Chef contender profiles.
Rachel Lindqvist covers community life, the lakefront, dining and the arts for The Evanston Edge.
