Third James Beard nomination stokes chef, pit masters’ fire

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

When they opened their barbecue restaurant a couple years ago, a pair of chefs and pit masters pledged to work hard and serve the best food around.

In the process, owners of Burnt Bean Co. have delivered and received recognition each year from the industry leader in culinary arts, each win surpassing the prior one. This year is no different as David Kirkland and Ernest Servantes, for the third year in a row, are semifinalists for a coveted James Beard Foundation award.

“This is different. It’s bigger for two reasons,” Servantes said. “To be nominated for a James Beard is an honor in itself and we were blessed to be nominated for Best Chef in Texas. But we were just nominated for Best Chef in the country. We’re not just going against Texas.”

The James Beard Foundation announced its list of 20 semifinalists for the foundation’s 2024 Outstanding Chef Award. Kirkland and Servantes made the list. Matched up against the likes of fine dining establishments in major cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco, Burnt Bean is the first “barbecue joint” to make the list for outstanding chef, Servantes said.

“We serve you on butcher paper, bro! I’m floored,” he said.

Established in 1990 and first awarded in 1991, the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards are one of five separate recognition programs of the James Beard Awards, according to the foundation’s website. The awards recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive, the site read.

Burnt Bean’s first year of operation in 2022, Kirkland and Servantes were elated to be named James Beard semifinalists in the Best Chef Texas category.

They repeated the following year as semifinalists and also made it to the next round to compete in a narrowed-down field of five finalists for Best Chef in Texas. In 2023, the duo went to Chicago for a culinary star-studded gala where they learned that a win wasn’t in the cards.

“When we went to Chicago and we didn’t get it, the only thing I said was I was sad but the next morning I woke up and I posted (on social media),” Servantes said. “All I put was we will work harder this time, and we worked harder. That’s all it took. We have to work hard and we stayed focused because we’re not done yet.”

Resting on their laurels and becoming a flash-in-the-pan success is far from what the restaurateurs have in mind, he said. Burnt Bean continues to strive for the highest quality of meals while offering dishes that are a little different than what many may consider traditional barbecue restaurant fare, Servantes said.

Burnt Bean is shaking up the industry and making critics and connoisseurs take notice of what can be done on a barbecue pit, he said. Seeing the shift blows his mind, Servantes said.

“Even if we don’t get to the next round or don’t get it, just to break the barriers of the perception of what the best chef in America should be … we’re breaking barriers, man,” he said. “They’re acknowledging (serving barbecue is) a craft, it’s beautiful and it’s just as beautiful as getting served a 10-course meal.”

After the first two nominations, Burnt Bean was able to garner statewide recognition, Servantes said. Word spread and more people came to enjoy the food.

Still, he remained hungry for more and knew they could push for greater recognition and do even more to please customers, Servantes said.

“I said 2023, we got a lot of great things,” he said. “We were honored and got all these accolades. But come 2024, hold my beer.”

The hard work is paying off, he said. Burnt Bean’s chefs are pitted against some of the best in the nation.

Outstanding Chef and other nominees will learn Wednesday, April 3 whether they make the pared-down list of finalists, according to the foundation website. Then the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony is scheduled for June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where winners are announced.

Making it further would be tremendous, but Burnt Bean’s chefs already feel pretty good about what they’ve accomplished, Servantes said.

“As it is, we are nominated as one of the best chefs in the country right now,” he said. “They’re saying to the world these 20 chefs are the best chefs in the country right now. No one can take that away from us, ever. That’s huge!”

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