Two Puerto Rican Chefs Weathered The Worst; Now Honored By The Best
After hurricanes Irma and Maria, these chefs defied the destruction, kept their restaurants open and fed hungry victims. Will they be finalists for the culinary world's prestigious James Beard Awards?
Finalists for the James Beard Awards — known as the Oscars of the food world — will be announced Wednesday. Among those waiting to hear whether they made the cut are two chefs from San Juan, Puerto Rico, who are nursing their restaurants back to life six months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
Chef Gabriel Hernandez slept on his restaurant floor for three weeks and served iceberg lettuce when there was little other produce available. Jose Enrique opened his eponymous restaurant as a staging kitchen for José Andrés' mass-cooking charity operation before his generator died. Both chefs were named as semifinalists for the Beard awards last month.
