Alaskan chef and crew nominated for James Beard Award

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaskan chefs have been putting the state on the national food scene for decades, and another chef can now be added to that list: Chef Nathan Bentley and the crew at Altura Bistro in Anchorage were nominated for a James Beard Award in 2022.

The semifinalist award certificate arrived recently and now hangs prominently on the wall. Though they didn’t win the award last year, Bentley said it’s a good place to be.

“This was my career goal all the time just at least to be nominated and recognized by such a program and organization,” Bentley said. “The next goal is to actually make it to the semifinals, or to the finals round and then hopefully win one day.”

Bentley dreams of winning a James Beard, going to the James Beard House, cooking dinner, and said that just thinking of it is indescribable.

“I’m at a loss for words for even thinking of the feeling of how it would be because just being recognized and nominated this year was I mean, I fell to my knees and started crying,” Bentley said. “It was just such a huge moment for me and for my team and to be able to recognize them as well on a national level.”

Bentley and Altura Bistro are not the only Alaskans who have been nominated for James Beard Awards.

“There have been some other people in the past that have been nominated for it in this town and within the state, and multiple times,” said Bentley. “Proud to be in that same realm with them at this point.”

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