I really can't even begin to put into words the absolute thrill it was to win a James Beard Award. To win something that is voted on by your peers is absolutely one of the greatest honors I have received as a chef.
None of it could have ever been possible without all the hard work and incredible dedication of my fantastic kitchen team both past and present. Powder, Matt, Jeff and Cory...you guys are the greatest and have absolutely pushed me to be the best I could be and continue to make me look good everyday. Jon, Jon and Frankie you guys were and will always be a huge part of my family and I thank you for all your help over the years.
Yody you're the greatest assistant of all time!!
Doug you've been the best
Liz I love you!!
Cleveland and Detroit you F'N ROCK!!!
Live to cook, MS
Congratulations, Chef! Ohio Awesome, REPRESENT!!
Posted by: Missy | May 05, 2009 at 07:06 PM
Cleveland thinks you F'n rock, too! Congrats! Two MVPs in one day for Cleveland - incredibly awesome.
Posted by: kakaty | May 05, 2009 at 07:25 PM
Congratulations Chef!
Posted by: lux | May 05, 2009 at 07:41 PM
wonderful honor for you - people like you make cleveland a great place to live!! thanks for your committment to local farmers and growers!!
Posted by: ckovac | May 05, 2009 at 08:20 PM
Congratulations Chef!
Posted by: PokerPlayer | May 05, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Mucho Congrats!
Posted by: MissV | May 05, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Congrats!!!
Posted by: Broderick | May 05, 2009 at 10:40 PM
I was waiting for you to post so I could congratulate you. Congrats Michael! Although I have never had the privilege of eating at your restaurants I know that the award is well deserved. Keep it up!
Posted by: Bryan | May 05, 2009 at 11:55 PM
I am so happy for you, Chef! Congrats!
Posted by: Kathy | May 06, 2009 at 07:53 AM
Congratulations Chef! I am so happy that you have received this award. You deserve it!
Posted by: Jennifer Fritz | May 06, 2009 at 09:44 AM
Congratulations! This is a wonderful accomplishment. Let's hope that your cookbook is up for an award in 2010.
Posted by: Kim | May 06, 2009 at 09:59 AM
what a magnificent smile! all i can say is, what took them so long?
Posted by: maria | May 06, 2009 at 12:27 PM
They ran a story the other day on the news, and the three names that people are most likely to associate positively with Cleveland are: 1) LeBron James, 2)The Cleveland Clinic, and 3) Michael Symon.
So Cleveland thanks you, too.
Posted by: beanie | May 06, 2009 at 03:39 PM
Congratulations!
Posted by: Scott | May 06, 2009 at 04:35 PM
On the same day that LeBron was named MVP, you won the JBS Best Chef Great Lakes. How sweet is that?
I love that you give due credit to all the folks who help you do what you do, including some who've moved on from your employ but are not forgotten.
And of course Liz gets the final mention, as well she should. Congrats to you both. This has been a long time coming...
Posted by: Edsel | May 06, 2009 at 09:03 PM
Congrats Mike. It was a complete honor to meet you at the Jamison Farm Lamb dinner last night. It was completely FANTASTIC. Your staff did a helluva job(as usual) and it was a GREAT evening.
Posted by: Greg | May 07, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Big congrats from a Chicagoan -- there has not been a time that I was in Cleveland that I haven't eaten at one of your restaurants, and your win is very much deserved.
Posted by: send9 | May 07, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Congratulation Chef Symon :)
How awesome for you - AND it came from your peers.
PS If your assistant ever decides to move on - give me an email - happy to help :)
Posted by: Damien | May 09, 2009 at 03:08 AM
Kudos on your newest honor. I've been
a fan of yours since I went to a cooking
class you did at our local Heinens years ago.
We are very excited in Lorain county
that you are headed out this way soon.
I am a volunteer with the Avon Heritage
Duct Tape Festival which is June 19-21st
and we'd love to have you stop by to
promote your new restaurant in Avon Lake.
We have a Mardi Gras theme this year and
our parade is Saturday June 20th at 10a.m.
with Duct Tape Floats! We would LOVE to
have you come celebrate with us. Check us
out on our website at avonducttapefestival.com
We get national exposure and have between
33,000-40,000 visitors.
Posted by: moose | May 09, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Congratulations Michael.
On a different subject, is your Milwaukee endeavor dead now that the Palomar seems to be dead too? If so that sucks. You could always find another space in Milwaukee. There are some great areas.
Posted by: Jeff | May 11, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Could your smile be any bigger - You're bursting! Congrats again!
Posted by: Michelle Venorsky | May 14, 2009 at 08:59 AM
Live the dream Iron Chef!
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Posted by: Cheap Computers | May 27, 2009 at 05:55 AM
Well done Michael! You are on the map here in Sydney, Australia.
As an aside, I just watched the Battle of the Artichoke on the Iron Chef which is why I am on your site. I find Jeffrey Steingarten to be at the best and worst of times a wanker. I assume he can only be on that show for comic relief because it certainly is not for his constructive and knowledgeable criticism of the dishes. As a native Clevelander I found his off the cuff remark about the Halibut being dry possibly due to you being Greek or from Cleveland to be another one of his tasteless and unintelligent comments. A good Greek name for Jeffrey would be Oedipus.
Please feel free to pass my critique on to Jeffrey.
Congratulations on the award! Well done!
Posted by: Stephen Holl | June 01, 2009 at 07:27 AM
why did they remove you from DI and return to Mr. Irvine?
Posted by: Ilan Justh | June 01, 2009 at 04:47 PM