StarChefs, a restaurant trade magazine, to hand out awards in Philly

StarChefs, the national restaurant industry magazine, will come to Philadelphia next month to honor recipients of its Rising Stars awards.

The Rising Stars, among them chefs and other hospitality professionals, will be celebrated at an awards ceremony and walk-around tasting gala, open to the public, on April 16 at the Curtis Atrium. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), a national nonprofit that educates underserved high school students.

The winners and the dishes they will serve at the gala follow:

Chefs

Tyler Akin of Stock: Khao tod neua (Lone Mountain wagyu, curry rice cakes, cilantro, mint)

Matt Harper of Kensington Quarters: Braised short rib, mole, fermented chiles, confit carrots

Jesse Ito of Royal Sushi & Izakaya: Kumamoto oyster sushi, sudachi, soy sauce, chives

Michael Vincent Ferreri of Res Ipsa Cafe: monkfish cavatelli, orange, saffron, breadcrumbs

Alexander Yoon of Little Fish: Verlasso salmon, preserved ramp vinaigrette, citrus

Game Changer award

Chad Williams of Friday Saturday Sunday: Brussels sprouts, smoked celery root purée, citrus chawanmushi, sunchoke chimichurri, mushroom-sherry broth

Community award

Matt Cahn of Middle Child: the Phoagie (a hoagie with eggplant, avocado, cilantro, pho sauce, sesame)

Sustainability award

Judy Ni and Andy Tessier of baology: King oyster mushroom gwa bao

Pastry Chefs

Camille Cogswell of Zahav: chocolate konafi, coconut jam, pistachios

Tova du Plessis of Essen Bakery: chocolate babka and assorted pastries

Samantha Kincaid of Cadence: cider shaved ice, rice pudding, apples, hazelnuts

Bartender

Paul MacDonald of Friday Saturday Sunday: Ovaltine milk punch (Bols genever, Ovaltine, lemon, red wine)

Artisan Baker

Alex Bois of Lost Bread Co.: beet “fryes,” breads, spreads

Artisan Roaster

Evan Inatome of Elixr Coffee: Guatemala Finca El Injerto and Kopi Sanger

Concept category

Nicole Marquis of HipCityVeg: crispy HipCity Ranch (chick’n, lettuce, tomato, onion, peppercorn ranch

Restaurateur

Nick Kennedy & Greg Root of Defined Hospitality: halabi lamb kebab, hummus, charred vegetables

Sommeliers

Alexandra Cherniavsky of The Love

Samantha Germani of Lacroix

Guest chef Townsend Wentz of Oloroso will serve a warm spring vegetable salad with jamón Ibérico and Majorero goat cheese. Guest sommelier Etinosa Emokpae of Walnut Street Cafe will pour Spanish wines.

Host chefs are John Suley and Monica Glass of Constellation Catering, and VIP host chef is Pierre Labine of Brûlée Catering.

Since 2003, StarChefs has held awards in 22 cities and regions. This will be the 65th class of Rising Stars and the third from Philadelphia.

The April 16 event starts at 5:30 p.m. with a VIP reception, followed at 6:15 p.m. by the awards ceremony at the Liberty View at Independence Visitor Center. At 7 p.m., it proceeds to the Curtis for the tasting gala.

General admission is $95 and grants access to the tasting gala. VIP tickets are $125.

Tickets can be purchased via starchefs.com/risingstars and Eventbrite.