It is time now—drumroll, trumpets, gongs—to announce the winners of the 2015 Eater Awards. In over a dozen categories in 24 cities, the winners comprise a diverse group of the finest and most interesting chefs, operators, and characters in the continent that have defined this year in dining. We applaud them. You are hereby instructed to applaud them.
To recap, Eater's local editors in 24 cities nominated candidates for five major local categories: Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Bartender of the Year, So Hot Right Now and Stone Cold Stunner. Eater readers then voted to narrow the field to a final three in each category. From that final three, the Eater editorial team chose one to move forward and the Eater.com braintrust got together to decide the national winners. Without further ado, here's who came out on top in Nashville.
Eater Awards 2015
Restaurant of the Year
Nominees: 5th & Taylor, Biscuit Love, Fifty First Kitchen & Bar, Little Octopus, Prima
Finalists: Fifty First Kitchen & Bar, Little Octopus, Prima
Winner: Prima
Chef of the Year
Nominees: Salvador Avila (Prima), Maneet Chauhan (Chauhan Ale and Masala House), Tony Galzin (Fifty First Kitchen & Bar), Daniel Herget (Little Octopus), Andrew Little (Josephine)
Finalists: Salvador Avila, Maneet Chauhan, Tony Galzin
Winner: Tony Galzin (Fifty Firsty Kitchen & Bar)
Bartender of the Year
Nominees: Carley Gaskin (Sinema), Michael McCollum (The Patterson House), Wil Schultz (Amari), Freddy Schwenk (Chauhan Ale and Masala House), Matt Tocco (Strategic Hospitality)
Finalists: Carley Gaskin, Michael McCollum, Freddy Schwenk
Winner: Freddy Schwenk (Chauhan Ale and Masala House)
So Hot Right Now
Nominees: 5th & Taylor, Avo, Biscuit Love, Cochon Butcher, Le Sel
Finalists: 5th & Taylor, Avo, Cochon Butcher
Winner: Avo
Stone Cold Stunner
Nominees: 5th & Taylor, Butchertown Hall, Chauhan Ale and Masala House, Fifty First Kitchen & Bar, Le Sel
Finalists: 5th & Taylor, Butchertown Hall, Chauhan Ale and Masala House
Winner: Butchertown Hall
Saddest Closure
Winner: The Silly Goose
