People's Best New Chef

Food & Wine magazine's quest for the People's Best New Chef is over, and a winner has been declared: Jamie Bissonnette of Coppa in Boston, MA, has won the popular vote.

"It's fantastic that Jamie, who champions offal and serves calf's brain ravioli and blood sausage pepperoni pizza, has such a huge following," Food & Wine editor in chief Dana Cowin said in a statement.

The other finalists from each region included the following:

• Midwest: Lee Richardson, Ashley's at the Capital Hotel, Little Rock, AR
• Pacific: Ricardo Zarate, Mo-Chica, Los Angeles, CA
• Southwest: Tim Byres, Smoke, Dallas, TX
• Northwest: Jason Franey, Canlis, Seattle, WA
• Southeast: Bryan Emperor, Kalu, Charlotte, NC
• New York Area: David Felton, Ninety Acres, Peapack-Gladstone, NJ
• Great Lakes: Jose Salazar, The Palace, Cincinnati, OH
• Mid-Atlantic: Kyle Bailey, Birch & Barley, Washington, DC
• Gulf Coast: James Lewis, Bettola, Birmingham, AL

Have you ever tried the food from any of these regional superstars?

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• How to grow an edible garden. — Serious Eats
• A photographic look at the best of South Beach. — Metromix New York
• Inside a Top Chef casting call. — The Feast
• Today is the last day to vote for the People's Best New Chef. — Eatocracy
• A review of Arby's new Angus three cheese and bacon sandwich. — SlashFood
• Chef Ludo Lefebvre has scored himself a television show. — Eater
• Jimmy Fallon goes inside David Chang's kitchen. — Fork in the Road
• Mario Batali names New York's most fashionable foodies. — Grub Street NY

• A major freeze in Mexico will significantly increase tomato prices. — Wall Street Journal
• Also expect to see a rise in the price of cheap beef. — The Consumerist
• Learn how to keep salad greens fresh. — The Kitchn
• Saveur magazine is now reviewing restaurants. — Eater
• Gourmet's Italian Kitchen has hit newsstands. — Gourmet Live
• Must make: spinach, provolone, and pepperoni calzone. — Serious Eats
• What model Selita Ebanks eats in preparation for Fashion Week. — Grub Street NY
• Vote now for the People's Best New Chef. — Eatocracy
• An easy way to take your food to the next level? Use good salt. — The Atlantic

One of the most coveted awards a young chef can receive is the title of Food & Wine's Best New Chef. Every April, the Food & Wine staff selects 10 chefs to be honored in the magazine and at a gala at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. This year, for the first time ever, the glossy has added a people's choice element to Best New Chefs.

It's partnered with CNN's food blog, Eatocracy, to launch a competition called The People's Best New Chef. The voting will take place online, and the winner will be featured alongside the magazine's picks for Best New Chef. Voting starts tomorrow with 10 chefs from 10 different regions and will run through March 1.

The chef with the most votes from each region will be named a finalist; the finalist with the most overall votes will be named 2011 People's Best New Chef. I'm curious to see who from the San Francisco Bay Area will be nominated and interested in the results of the competition. Will you vote for your favorite chefs?

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