The organizers of euphoria Greenville, the Upstate’s annual food, wine and music festival, don’t claim to have influenced the 2024 James Beard Foundation Awards announced Jan. 24. With the numerous elements that go into the judging and selection process, many factors are at play.
What Morgan Allen, euphoria executive director, will take credit for is giving many of the honorees a platform that often leads to greater notoriety.
“In kitchens you don’t always see their personality,” she said about restaurant employees who are often working behind the scenes. “Festivals and events get them in front of journalists and help them connect.”
That personality translates to memorable visits for national and regional journalists who attend the September festival, some of whom are James Beard jurists.
This year alone, 16 chefs, beverage experts and restaurateurs who have participated in euphoria were named to the 2024 James Beard semifinalist list, the highest culinary honor in the United States.
That list will be shortened to a smaller group of finalists, and eventually winners will be named in June. But making the first cut is cause for celebration and ushers those named into an elite club. It can lead to more opportunities, business longevity and personal success. In other words, it’s a big deal.
In the last five years, 103 James Beard nominations were given to euphoria alumni or current participants. The four-day festival often features more than 20 nominees at a time. That, in addition to the Michelin-starred chefs in attendance, makes for quite an impressive talent pool.
The majority of honorees attended the festival before being nationally recognized by the James Beard Foundation. In those cases, the euphoria team and culinary council recognized the talent before they were part of a national discussion, sometimes even before they’d participated in other regional festivals.
“It means we’re doing something right,” Allen said. “When they announce the awards, you hope you’ve maybe had a small piece of it.”
A good example is chef Dallas McGarity of Louisville, Kentucky, who has been a faithful euphoria participant since 2015. He received his first Best Chef Southeast nomination this year.
“When you see someone like that make the list, it makes you feel like you’re a part of it,” Allen said.
She said euphoria is always looking for up-and-coming chefs who will offer guests a new experience and reason to keep coming back year after year.
“Seeing this list, we’re not chasing the people already awarded,” Allen said.
She said that euphoria’s scouting method — the way organizers look for the talent who will participate in future festivals — is less of a rigid process and more a word-of-mouth, organic experience.
“Some is from our own finding and researching and some is from media guest recommendations and board members and other chefs who’ve made friends along the way,” she said.
Allen reiterated that the goal for euphoria is to maintain its reputation as a talent-friendly festival that treats everyone well and provides fresh experiences for guests.
“The chefs that come in have a good time that weekend. It’s about connecting and having a good time,” she said. “Being a smaller festival, it’s more about the hospitality of it, and that’s what it’s all about.”
2024 James Beard semifinalists participating in euphoria 2024
| Outstanding Hospitality | Crawford & Son, Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Outstanding Wine & Other Beverages Program | COTE, New York City |
| Outstanding Pastry Chef | Tania Harris, Topsoil Kitchen & Market, Travelers Rest |
| Emerging Chef | Nikko Cagalanan, Kultura, Charleston |
| Outstanding Bar | Edmund’s Oast, Charleston |
| Outstanding Restaurateur | Kimball Brienza & Stephen Palmer, O-Ku Sushi, Charleston |
| Outstanding Chef | John & Karen Shields, Smyth, Chicago |
| Outstanding Chef | Emma Bengtsson, Aquavit, New York City |
| Best Chef Southeast | Jacques Larson, The Obstinate Daughter, Sullivan’s Island |
| Best Chef Southeast | Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, Cayce |
| Best Chef Southeast | Dallas McGarity, The Fat Lamb Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Best Chef Southeast | Kiki Cyrus, Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles, Columbia, South Carolina |
| Best Chef Great Lakes | Jose Salazar, Mita’s, Cincinnati |
| Best Chef New York State | Charlie Mitchell, Clover Hill, Brooklyn, New York |
| Best New Restaurant | Scoundrel, Greenville |
| Best New Restaurant | Atelier, Chicago |
The above nominees all participated in euphoria previously and prior to their first JBF nomination.