BOZEMAN — What do Wild Crumb, Blackbird, J.W. Heist Steakhouse, PLONK, and Shan have in common?
They are all home to semi-finalists for the James Beard Awards.
“My whole life I’ve sort of lived and breathed food. I’m so interested in it,” said Jarrett Wrisley, owner, founder, and chef at local Thai and Chinese restaurant Shan.
“I was thinking about how best to translate my knowledge of Asian food to this market, and I really wanted to work with the all the beautiful local protein we have,” said Wrisley.
“That’s the idea behind this restaurant. Shan means mountains in Chinese, he added.
As Wrisley explains, he lives in Asia for more than 20 years, where he started as a food journalist and later segued over to cooking.
“Because the only thing I can do besides write is cook,” said Wrisley.
WATCH: Nominees for James Beard Awards discuss what nomination means to them
While he was in Asia, Wrisley opened eight restaurants, ranging from Italian food to Thai food and more. But once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he ended up closing them and moved to Bozeman.
“When I arrived here in Montana, I swore I wasn’t going to open another restaurant cause I had just closed like five,” said Wrisley.
That didn’t stop him from opening Shan in 2023.
Three years later, he’s been nominated as best chef by the James Beard Awards for the Mountain Region.
“I was thrilled,” said Wrisley.
“I think it’s really good for my staff. I’m only as good as everyone else that’s working for me and the guys that are working in this restaurant, they work really hard,” he also said.
Brett Evje, a fifth-generation Montanan who was nominated for outstanding restaurateur of J.W. Heist Steakhouse and PLONK along with co-owner Michael Oschner, shared the same sentiment.
“It’s unbelievable actually and I’m totally shocked,” said Evje. “It’s cool to be recognized for things that you work really hard on”
“I can’t do every single job in these restaurants, so it’s really the team to me that makes these places shine,” he also said.
"This was Michael and I's brainchild," said Evje, referring to the J.W. Steakhouse. "All of the chairs were hand-picked and hand-built, as far as booths and bar chairs and everything else. It was custom-made for the space."
So, what are the James Beard Awards? They were founded in 1990 and recognize culinary excellence.
“The James Beard Awards are kind of like the Oscars for the restaurant world,” said Evje.
As for the other local eateries, Blackbird was nominated for Outstanding Restaurants and Wild Crumb was nominated for Outstanding Bakery.
“I’ve come to Wild Crumb since day 1,” said Bozeman resident Nanette Bercu. “I come here, like, once to twice a week.”
“They deserve it; the people that work there are absolutely fabulous,” said Bercu.
Both Evje and Wrisley say their James Beard nomination would not be possible without:
“Community support,” said Evje.
“I’m so happy that Bozeman has embraced us,” said Wrisley.
