Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As he thanked the audience Monday night for his James Beard award win, Charleston chef Paul Smith didn’t forget what got him there.
“Two words,” he said to the crowd, “that have never been mentioned [at this awards ceremony] before: ‘West Virginia.’ Thank you to my community, to my team, for allowing me to work next to you and lead you.”
Smith, co-owner and executive chef of 1010 Bridge in South Hills, won the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast category at the annual awards ceremony, held at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago.
This was Smith’s second consecutive finalist appearance for the award. Other finalists in the category this year were from Atlanta as well as North and South Carolina.
In his two-minute-long acceptance speech, Smith focused much of it on his wife, Carrie Ward Smith, and the support she gave him as he worked to overcome alcohol addiction.
