Food & Wine's Best New Chefs 2016

Each since 1988, Food & Wine editors have toured the country to uncover America's most brilliant up-and-coming chefs. Here is why the Best New Chefs from 2016 made the cut and what they are to now.

01 of 10

Michael Gulotta

Then: "He's turning out awesome, Delta-inspired Vietnamese food — like pho with oxtail and mustard greens — in a casual strip-mall restaurant that explores the seafood traditions around both Southeast Asia and the American South." Read more in Gulotta's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Gulotta owns Maypop and MOPHO restaurants in New Orleans and will soon open Tana, a fine dining Italian restaurant, in the Old Metarie neighborhood. In February 2023, Gulotta wrote an essay for Food & Wine about the lessons he learned while cooking with his twin sons, who are on the autism spectrum.

Instagram: @michaelgulotta

Make Mike Gulotta's Recipes

02 of 10

Kris Yenbamroong

Then: "He’s turned his bold version of Thai street food—in particular the potent Northern Thai dishes of his family’s homeland, many not seen in the US before—into one of the coolest, most vibrant cuisines in Los Angeles." Read more in Yenbamroong's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Yenbamroong and his wife Sarah are the owners of NIGHT + MARKET restaurants in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and owns Le Maximum gallery in Venice, CA. In 2021, Food & Wine featured their joyful approach to pairing Thai food with wine.

Instagram: @krisyenbamroong

Make Kris Yenbamroong's Recipes

03 of 10

Ravi Kapur

Then: "The Hawaiian-born chef has created a frenzy for the food of his home state, serving exuberant dishes like tuna poke with sesame oil and nori crackers, and caviar with furikake brioche." Read more in Kapur's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Kapur is the owner of Liholiho Yacht Club Restaurant and Good Good Culture Club in San Francisco. In 2022, Food & Wine's Hunter Lewis reported on Kapur's approach to creating an equitable culture for workers at his restaurants.

Instagram: @chefravikapur

Make Ravi Kapur's Recipes

04 of 10

Kevin Fink

Then: "He’s wildly passionate about grains, milling up to 15 kinds in his Austin kitchen. He uses them to make everything from the White Sonoran Bialys he often serves at brunch to Red Fife tagliatelle with merguez, tomato and fennel." Read more in Fink's 2016 BNC Profile.

Now: Fink is the chef and owner of Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group in Austin, TX, with restaurants including Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo, Henbit, TLV, and Canje as well as Ladino in San Antonio, TX. His partner in the business, Tavel Bristol-Joseph, was named a Best New Chef in 2020.

Instagram: @kevinfinkatx

05 of 10

Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Von Hauske

Then: "With Wildair, the two young chefs have redefined what a wine bar can be, serving deceptively simple, outstandingly flavorful dishes like crispy potato tart with uni and jalapeño. Meanwhile, at their flagship restaurant, Contra, they serve exquisite five-course tasting menus and host some of the world’s top chefs for inspired collaboration dinners." Read more in Stone and Von Hauske's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Contra and Wildair are still going strong and Stone and Von Hauske have expanded their NYC empire with Mighties Burgers and Peoples Wine Shop and Bar as well as venturing to upstate New York with Para Casa, a pantry, provisions, pastry, and coffee shop in the Catskills.

Instagram: @fabianvhv and @chefjeremiahstone

Make Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Von Hauske's Recipes

06 of 10

Iliana Regan

Then: "Her exquisite Nordic-style cooking highlights Midwestern ingredients (acorn puree, pickled crab apples, wild greens, cured bear meat). It’s fascinating, beautiful, rustic and modern all at once." Read more in Regan's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Regan left the restaurant world to open the wildly popular, food and nature-centric Milkweed Inn B&B with her wife Anna in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She's written two memoirs, "Burn the Place" and "Fieldwork." In 2020, she wrote an essay for Food & Wine about her mother's beef noodles.

Instagram: @iliana_regan_and_co

Make Iliana Regan's Recipes

07 of 10

Edouardo Jordan

Then: "The menu at Salare represents the chef’s outstanding and diverse training, from salumi-making in Italy to working the line at Per Se in New York City and cooking over live fire at Seattle’s Bar Sajor. His superb sweetbreads with collard greens merge his fine-dining experience with his Southern roots." Read more in Edouardo Jordan's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Though Salare fell victim to the Coronavirus pandemic, Jordan remains focused on his other Seattle stalwarts, JuneBaby restaurant and SideBar wine and cocktail bar, as well as Food with Roots, a food and fashion line celebrating the culture and history of Black people in America.

Instagram: @edouardojordan

Make Edouardo Jordan's Recipes

08 of 10

Brad Kilgore

Then: "In an unassuming concrete building, in Miami’s up-and-coming Wynwood neighborhood, Kilgore is serving some of the country’s most brilliant and playful dishes. His version of cassoulet features mahimahi, with rye bread, smoked white beans and serrano ham jus." Read more in Kilgore's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: In addition to his flagship restaurant Alter, Kilgore heads up the Kilgore Culinary group in Miami, which designs, operates, and runs culinary direction for a private racetrack resort, The Concours Club, MaryGold’s Brasserie, Arlo Hotels, and more.

Instagram: @brad_kilgore

Make Brad Kilgore's Recipes

09 of 10

Aaron Silverman

Then: "Each night, there’s a humongous line for the 5 p.m. opening of his cozy restaurant — a bi-level, farmhouse-hip space with a dinner-party vibe. The attraction: extraordinary dishes like pork sausage with peanuts, habanero and lychee." Read more in Aaron Silverman's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: The aforementioned restaurant, Rose's Luxury remains a hot ticket in D.C., and Silverman has since brought two more restaurants into the Rose's Restaurant Group family, Little Pearl, and Pineapple and Pearl.

Instagram: @rosesluxury

Make Aaron Silverman's Recipes

10 of 10

David Barzelay

Then: "Each night he creates an incredible, unconventional dinner party for guests that includes the gift of an adorable Boy Scout–style notebook. In the open kitchen, he uses avant-garde gadgets to create modern American dishes that invariably taste delicious." Read more in David Barzelay's 2016 BNC profile.

Now: Barzelay's Lazy Bear (an anagram of his name) supper club-turned-restaurant is still roaring along in San Francisco, and the former lawyer's True Laurel bar — with cocktail superstar Nico Torres — continues to receive major accolades on both the food and beverage fronts.

Instagram: @davidbarzelay

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!