BREAKING: Another year, another Beard Award for Oklahoma!?!
Sorta; New Nonesuch ownership win Outstanding Restaurateur
Oklahoma dining fans disappointed when chef Jeff Chanchaleune wasn’t named Best Chef Southwest at the James Beard Foundation Awards got a helluva consolation prize when an Oklahoma-native, who recently purchase Oklahoma City’s Nonesuch, won the national Outstanding Restaurateur award on Monday night.
While the work Kelly and Erika Whitaker did to earn the award all happened in Colorado, the win for their Id Est Hospitality should fortify the enthusiasm brewing in the 405 diningscape for their arrival. In fact, Nonesuch was on the big screen with all the other Id Est properties on Monday.
“I just filled out the paperwork last week,” Whitaker said during in a late May interview. “It asked for all us to list all the restaurants we own, and at the time they asked me to fill out the forms, Nonesuch was one of them.”
Since opening Basta in 2010, Whitaker has twice been named Eater.com's Chef of the Year. In 2017, he received a StarChefs “Colorado Rising Star Community” award. Id Est properties boasts four Michelin Stars. Bruto, and The Wolf’s Tailor, have a Michelin Star and Michelin Green Star each. Nonesuch join sother Id Est properties Dry Storage, Basta, and Hey Kiddo/OK Yeah still trying to earn theirs.
The Whitakers were nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur by the Beard Foundation last year, too. Check out this look inside what the Whitakers’ Id Est Hospitality brings to Oklahoma dining with more details. Reservations at Nonesuch are available at both their Chefs Counter and in The Den.
Congrats to Kelly, Erika and the whole Id Est team on this amazing achievement!