(WXYZ) — Two Michigan chefs from Traverse City have been named a finalist for a James Beard Award, the James Beard Foundation announced on Wednesday.
Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson from The Cooks' House in Traverse City are finalists for Best Chef: Great Lakes, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
The category is for "chefs who set high standards in their culinary skills and leadership abilities and who are making efforts to help create a sustainable work culture in their respective regions."
The finalists for the awards were announced on Wednesday.
In January, 10 Michigan restaurants and chefs were named semifinalists for the awards, but only Blakeslee and Patterson moved into the finalists. The winners will be announced in June in Chicago.
The Cooks' House is located near Downtown Traverse City and was started by Patterson and Blakeslee.
According to the website, both worked in Las Vegas before returning to Traverse City, where Blakeslee is from.
"We take most of our focus from the actual ingredients themselves,” Patterson said, according to the website. “My food is a bit simpler, whereas Jen likes to work with more complex flavors from her travels in India, Mexico and Southeast Asia.”
