Vermont chef wins prestigious James Beard Award
A Vermont chef was named Monday night as the top chef in the Northeast at the nation’s most prominent food industry awards.
Nisachon “Rung” Morgan, who runs the kitchen at Saap in Randolph, won the honor at the James Beard Award ceremony in Chicago. The native of the Isan region in Thailand, whose menu at Saap features food from her homeland, owns the restaurant with her husband, Steve Morgan.
The restaurant celebrated the news around 10 p.m. Monday with a simple post on Facebook: “Rung Won!” The James Beard Foundation, which hands out the awards, announced the win more matter-of-factly on Twitter: “For Best Chef, Northeast: Nisachon Morgan, @saaprestaurant in Randolph, VT.”
The James Beard Awards designate the Northeast as containing the six New England states. Saap was up against restaurants from the larger communities of Portland, Maine and Boston.
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“At Saap,” the restaurant writes on its Facebook page, “we believe good food doesn’t have to be overly expensive or ‘fine-dining’ to be complex, intriguing, and exquisitely delicious!”
Saap operates out of a former inn and nursing home converted into a craft center on a hilltop overlooking the central Vermont town of Randolph. Rung Morgan makes food from Isan that tends to be spicier than Thai food normally found in the U.S. that reflects more of a Chinese influence, according to Steve Morgan. He told the Burlington Free Press last month that Rung Morgan employs a stronger, “funkier” fish sauce than Americans might be used to, which helps give Saap’s food a more unique Thai flavor.
“The food just tastes homemade as opposed to cookie-cutter Thai food,” Steve Morgan said.
The Morgans were already having a heady time in Chicago before winning a James Beard Award. The restaurant posted a photo Sunday on Facebook of the couple posing with renowned chef Rick Bayless. “Delicious meal at Frontera grill! Met a hero!” the post reads.
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont chef Rung Morgan of Saap wins James Beard Award
