James Beard Foundation Award Winner for Best Chef: Northeast 2022

Saap is very pleased to announce that chef-owner Nisachon (Rung) Morgan, who was selected to represent Vermont as a nominee for the James Beard Foundation Best Chef Award: Northeast has won the prestigious award. Rung was one of 5 chefs in the Northeast to be nominated as a finalist.  

Chef Nisachon Morgan ~ Photo by Brooke Cyr

The Oscars for Chefs

Chefs from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island are eligible for the James Beard Foundation Award Best Chef: Northeast. This year 3 chefs from Maine, one from Massachusetts, and Saap’s Nisachon Morgan from Vermont vied for the esteemed title. Chef Morgan beat out fellow local nominees Tiffani Faison of Orfano in Boston, Damian Sansonetti of Chaval in Portland, Vien Dobui of CÔNG TỬ BỘT in Portland, and Courtney Loreg of Woodford Food & Beverage in Portland. 

Photo by James Vitullo

Rung and Steve, accompanied by family members, traveled to Chicago to attend the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony and black-tie gala  held on Monday, June 13 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

An Annual Award Named after Chef James Beard

Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation Awards are named for renowned New York Chef James Andrews Beard, a cookbook author, teacher and television personality who died in 1985.

The annual awards are presented by the James Beard Foundation (JBF) to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. Recently the JBF added some new requirements for award nominees. Not only must nominees be great chefs and restaurateurs, they must also be valuable members of the community, and align with the Foundation’s values centered on creating a more equitable, sustainable, and healthy work culture.

Second Vermont Chef to Win a Top Regional Award 

According to the James Beard Foundation’s website, Nisachon Morgan’s recognition is the second in the Vermont’s history. The only other James Beard award to be given to a Vermont chef or restaurant went to Al’s French Fries in South Burlington, which earned the American Classics award in 2010.

“Congratulations to Rung and the whole Saap team. This a tremendous accomplishment, and I look forward to trying your delicious food very soon.”
— US Congressman Peter Welch

“Congrats to Chef Nisachon Morgan from Randolph for being named the Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation. You’ve made Vermont Proud!”
— Governor Phil Scott

Chef Nisachon Morgan is proud to represent Vermont, and is committed to providing Saap’s guests with delicious traditional dishes from the Isaan region of Thailand. 

Saap co-owner and husband Steve Morgan speaks for them both saying, “We have a passion for northern Thai fare. We emulate and share the wild, fresh and fiery flavors of this wonderful region. At Saap, we believe good food doesn’t have to be overly expensive to be complex, intriguing, and exquisitely delicious.”

Khao Kluk Gapi ~ Saap’s Fried rice with fermented shrimp paste, mango, sweet pork, egg, red onion, cucumber and green beans. Photo by Brooke Cyr.

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Media Attention

Major Broadcast Television Network Coverage

CBS This Mornings: The Dish with Jan Crawford, January 16, 2023
A Taste of Thailand in Vermont: Award- Winning Restaurant Saap Draws People Across New England

Award Winner

Interviews

An Upper Valley chef won a James Beard Award for her Isaan Thai cuisine  New Hampshire Public Radio “All Things Considered” Interview by Julia Furokawa

Videos

Thai born chef wins 2022 James Beard Award for family recipes cooked at Vermont Restaurant  WCVB-TV Chronicle June 14, 2022

Randolph chef wins James Beard Award  WCAX-TV, June 14, 2022

Articles

Nisachon Morgan of Saap Restaurant in Vermont wins James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northeast  Boston Globe by Brittany Bowker, June 14, 2022

Vermont Chef wins prestigious James Beard Award  Burlington Free Press by Brent Hallenbeck, June 14, 2022

James Beard Foundation names Randolph women “Best Chef in Northeast”  VTDigger.org by Lia Chien, June 14, 2022

Chef at Thai Restaurant in Randolph receives James Beard award as best in Northeast   Valley News by Alex Hanson, June 14, 2022

Who won on food’s big night. See the full list of James Beard Award 2022 winners  USA Today by Jennifer McClellan

Chef Nisachon Morgan of Saap in Randolph wins James Beard Award  Seven Days by Melissa Pasanen, June 15, 2022

Randolph Chef Scores Big Win  The Herald by Dylan Kelley, June 16, 2022

Nomination

Randolph chef earns James Beard nod for her traditional Thai cuisine by Vermont Public Radio, Vermont Edition by Mikaela Lefrak, May 6, 2022

The 2022 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Nominees by James Beard Foundation Editors, March 16, 2022

Here are the 2022 James Beard Foundation Awards finalists from New England  Boston.com by Susannah Sudborough, March 16, 2022

Randolph Chef Earns James Beard Accolade  The Herald by Dylan Kelley, March 17, 2022

Thai chef from Randolph a James Beard Finalist  WCAX-3, March 30, 2022

2022 James Beard Awards: Saap gets a nomination as best Times Argus by Peter Cobb, March 31, 2022

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