By Andrew Hamlin
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Good news can strike at any time, in any manner.
For Aisha Ibrahim, chef at Seattle’s Canlis steakhouse, the news that she’d become a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard awards came in the middle of the night.
Aisha Ibrahim attends the Time100 Next event at Current at Chelsea Piers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
“I was in bed asleep,” recalled Ibrahim, “when my wife (Canlis sous chef Samantha Beaird) jolted me awake to share the news that I had made the semifinalist as a best chef, Pacific Northwest. After scanning the list, I noticed Linda [Milagros Violago], our beverage director, had also been nominated for outstanding beverage professional. So [Violago] found out when I texted her.”
Including Ibrahim, the James Beard award semifinalist list includes several Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) notables in Seattle’s food scene: Quynh Pham and Yenvy Pham of Phở Bắc Súp Shop, Phởcific Standard Time, and The Boat, for Outstanding Restaurateur; chef Aaron Verzosa at Archipelago, for Outstanding Hospitality; Chef Keiji at Ltd. Edition Sushi, for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages; Sophon Bar and Restaurant for Best New Bar; and Anu Apte at Rob Roy, for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
Finalists in all categories will be announced on April 2.
Asked how reaction to her Canlis cuisine had changed over the years, Ibrahim reflected on her heritage.
“I think the cuisine I have shared at Canlis has introduced my Filipino heritage to the guests,” she said. “At first, it’s always a challenge to win the trust of diners, but overall, it’s been met with acceptance and excitement from the guests.”
“Building a great team is everything. Cooking is a team sport, and these accolades are great for the acknowledgment and attention they bring to our program,” Ibrahim continued. “I love what I do and choose to surround myself with a kitchen team who is as inspired, passionate, and dedicated to the work.”
Yenvy Pham and her sister, Quynh, got their James Beard news from a fellow semifinalist.
“Yasu of Saint Bread texted my sister and I,” Yenvy Pham said. “He’s the best.”
The Pham sisters introduced Seattle to phở back in the early 1980s.
Phở. Courtesy of Phở Bắc Súp Shop.
“The early years had lines wrapped around our small 800 square feet building!” Yenvy remembers. “Seattle and the Vietnamese community embraced phở from the beginning.”
Chef Keiji at Ltd. Edition Sushi got a text from a friend telling him the news. He specializes in the “omakase” presentation of sushi, where the diners leave it up to the chef to create the meal.
Keiji thinks of a meal with its courses as a “story,” and he focuses intently “on the seasonal ingredients and the story, for the course menu. It’s like making a movie.”
Chef Keiji. Courtesy of Ltd Edition Sushi.
“I’m doing something more traditional, with a little twist, now,” Keiji said. “To find the depths of tradition are the most exciting things for me.”
James Beard semifinalist Aaron Verzosa of Archipelago invoked the intersection between local and Filipino roots.
“It is often forgotten that our cuisine is completely sourced from the Pacific Northwest,” Verzosa said of Archipelago’s food, “and certainly where it matters the most within the foundations of our culture, through the likes of such things as our in-house fish sauces, shrimp pastes, and our even more novel vegetable-based versions of these products, that don’t really exist within the canon of our traditional cuisine.”
Chef Aaron Verzosa of Filipino American restaurant Archipelago, who is nominated for a 2023 James Beard Award, boxes brown butter masa mamon, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
“Even when it was just Amber and I, and before it was being widely done, we’ve accepted all diners with whatever dietary notes they may have, be it allergies, aversions, or even general preferences,” Verzosa said. “Limitless through limitation as we like to say at Archipelago.”
Amber Manuguid, Verzosa’s partner at Archipelago, stressed the importance of a core community.
“Before we opened, I think there were a lot of mixed feelings, as well as confusion, about what we were doing,” Manuguid said. “At the time, it felt like the concept of Filipino fine dining was greatly frowned upon, but once we opened, we were blessed to be welcomed by our community and city.”
Manuguid shared one of her favorite memories from within the first month after Archipelago opened. She remembers an elderly Filipino couple coming in for a dinner their adult children had booked for them.
“They were pretty silent and serious the entire dinner. We felt like they hated every moment of the experience. Feeling incredibly defeated, we did our best to give them a warm send-off,” Manuguid said. “They waited until everyone had left, and on their way out, they stopped before stepping out the door and said to us, ‘Thank you for showing people what our food can be.’ It left us in tears and gave us the motivation to keep pushing.”