NEW YORK CITY---
What does a young guy do the day after winning one of the most prestigious culinary awards in the country?
Cook up a mess of chickpeas. 
Reached by phone this afternoon in the kitchen of Café Boulud, Gavin Kaysen was preparing the dried beans for a canapé that will be served tonight at the popular Upper East Side eatery. “I’ll probably fold them into some hummus with piqueno peppers, some preserved lemon and a bit of mint and parsley,” explained the winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of the Year Award. “It’ll be very refreshing,” he added, referring to the furnace-like temperatures that have blasted the city for the last few days.
Last night, at the James Beard Foundation’s glitzy annual awards ceremony at Lincoln Center, Kaysen won the award for a chef 30 years of age or younger “who displays an impressive talent, and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come.”
The other finalists were Nate Appleman of A16 in San Francisco Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston S.C. , Johnny Monis of Komi in Washington, D.C., Matt Molina of Osteria Mozza in L.A., and Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon.
“Shocked, just shocked,” is how Kaysen described his reaction to the award, an engraved bronze medallion on a red ribbon, which was presented to him by last year's winner David Chang and TV personality Padma Lakshmi. “I mean, you certainly don’t expect something like this when you first move somewhere, especially New York City which is a big pond with big fish,” said the boyish-looking chef who 
started manning the stoves at Café Boulud just seven months ago. (One of his hits was this sophisticated summer squash agnolotti studded with bits of sweetbreads, crispy bacon “tuiles”, red pearl onions and fresh sage.)
Kaysen’s rise to the pinnacle of fine dining in the U.S has been a fast one, highlighted by a little luck and a lot of hard work.
For five years before Daniel Boulud tapped him for the top Cafe Boulud job, Kaysen was chef of El Bizcocho in the Rancho Bernardo Inn. While there he won stellar reviews from San Diego restaurant critics, was selected one of Food & Wine magazine's 2007 Best New Chefs and represented the U.S.in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or International cooking competition in France, where he placed 14th.
Kaysen graduated from the New England Culinary Institute, then moved on to stints in the kitchens of Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley, Auberge de Lavaux in Lausanne, Switzerland and the Michelin-starred L'Escargot in London.
When asked to ponder why he won the award after just seven months in New York when he didn't even make the list of finalists while at El Bizcocho, Kaysen was both philosophical and practical.
“I think the award reflects everything I’ve done up to this point, including my five years in San Diego. But it’s just that when you’re in New York, everyone has the opportunity to eat your food because everybody goes to New York City,” he continued, with “everybody” being the food professionals and journalists who vote on the awards.
“I save all the tickets in the kitchen,” he added, referring to the orders placed by diners. “And I’ve had a lot of people come in and eat my food over these seven months. It makes a very big difference. It’s not that San Diego isn’t on the food map, because it is. It’s just that everybody goes through this city.”
Kaysen also gives much credit to his staff at Café Boulud who he says inspire him every day, and to Daniel Boulud, the creator of one of the most impressive gastronomic empires in the world. (It includes Restaurant Daniel, Bar Boulud, db Bistro Moderne in New York City and Daniel Boulud Brasserie in Las Vegas.)
“Daniel was like a kid in a candy store when I won,” Kaysen said with a laugh. “He sent me a text message right away; it was classic Daniel. It said something like ‘Big hug to you, Baby. You rock my world’.”
“Daniel’s a very inspiring person. I’ve always looked up to him as a mentor. He’s somebody you can always learn from.”
The 18th annual black-tie event at Avery Fisher Hall was emceed by Kim Cattrall and celebrity chef Bobby Flay. A couple thousand professional chefs, winemakers, restaurateurs, food journalists, publicists and well-heeled foodies (tickets cost $450) sat through the three-hour ceremony, then feasted on the breathtaking fare from more than 30 nationally renowned chefs at the reception afterwards.
For a “taste” of the spectacular dishes whipped up by these chefs and a complete list of award winners, including Outstanding Chef, Restaurant and Restaurateur, visit my blog tomorrow.
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