When the prestigious James Beard Awards announced their winner for Best Chef: Southeast on June 5, a lot of people really thought this would be Josh Habiger’s year — but it didn’t happen. We at the Scene, however, enthusiastically endorse Josh as the best chef in Nashville. Why should he have won the Beard this year? He was the only repeat nominee, having been named as a semifinalist four times since 2018. He has helmed the kitchen at several different Nashville restaurants, and each was widely considered among the best, if not the very best in town, while he worked there: The Catbird Seat, Pinewood Social and Bastion, each also a Beard nominee during Habiger’s tenure.
This is all even more remarkable when you realize that when he first moved to Nashville to work as general manager at The Patterson House, his bosses at Strategic Hospitality didn’t even know he could cook. Josh took on the new project during a break from the kitchen after years working on the opening team of Grant Achatz’s revolutionary Chicago restaurant, Alinea. Oh, and The Patterson House was also a two-time Beard nominee while Habiger managed.
Why didn’t he win the Beard? Josh doesn’t have a huge presence on social media, nor does he seek out national TV appearances or put out a new cookbook every 18 months. He spends his time making the dining experience at Bastion as extraordinary as he can. He’s hosted pop-ups to throw the spotlight on up-and-coming chefs, including Julio Hernandez, Michael Hanna, Edgar Victoria, and Brian Lea and Leina Horii. Many of these chefs have worked in Josh’s kitchen, as has Brian Baxter, the current chef at The Catbird Seat. Together they represent the next generation of local talent, those who have already opened the most acclaimed or the most anticipated restaurants of 2023. Josh truly serves as a major pipeline of talent that is pushing Nashville forward. He’s the quiet chef everyone in Nashville admires as being the best. And we do, too!
