Beloved Baltimore chef Spike Gjerde finally won a James Beard Award! Gjerde was named “Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic” for Woodberry Kitchen after being nominated and shortlisted in previous years.
Baltimore Business Journal called the win “a major victory for the city’s burgeoning food scene.” Gjerde is the first Baltimore chef to win for the region in the awards’ 25-year history.
Gjerde has been a strong cheerleader for Baltimore’s culinary scene. In a feature at GQ.com, he highlighted Baltimore restaurants, bars, and cafes and talked up Baltimore’s “really vibrant and diverse public market system.”
Cindy Wolf of Charleston in Harbor East was a finalist in the category.
