FnB chef Charleen Badman won this year’s James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest. That night, in front of the most powerful people in the restaurant industry, Badman became the first Arizona chef in 12 years to bring home the award, often called the "Oscars of the food world."
Winning the award is a career high for the Tucson-raised chef, and could be a pivotal moment for Arizona’s culinary scene, which many feel has not received the kind of national recognition it deserves in quite some time.
The Show got the chance to speak with Badman recently to talk about her win and what it was like when celebrity presenter Zooey Deschanel announced her name that night.
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