James Beard Foundation Award Nominee for Best Chef: Northeast 2022
Saap is pleased to announce that chef-owner Nisachon Morgan, who goes by Rung, has been selected to represent Vermont as a nominee for the James Beard Foundation Best Chef Award: Northeast. Rung is 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 are vying for the prestigious award.
Finalist to be Announced on June 13, 2022
Rung and Steve, accompanied by family members, will travel to Chicago to learn whom the final winner from the Northeast will be. They’ll attend the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony and black-tie gala 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.
Proud to Represent Vermont
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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See Additional Information
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