Dover chef Evan Hennessey was celebrated Monday as a James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award winner. He was named Best Chef: Northeast, which covers the New England states.
Hennessey is the chef and owner of Stages in Dover, as well as Topolino, a Mediterranean restaurant that recently opened in Dover.
In accepting the award, Hennessey thanked his restaurant team, his parents, and his children, and gave a nod to his hometown.
“Huge shoutout to the entire community of Dover, New Hampshire,” he said during his remarks on stage. “I hope you are watching right now. We may be 34,000 people, but damn, we are big.”
Hennessey said he continues to be inspired by James Beard Award winners, past and present, with culinary improvisation and innovation as a north star.
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”
He was announced as a semifinalist for the culinary recognition earlier this year, along with Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem receiving a nomination for Outstanding Bakery.
Other chefs nominated for Best Chef in the Northeast were David DiStasi of Materia Ristorante in Bantam, Conn.; Thomas Takashi Cooke of Izakaya Minato in Portland, Maine; Paul Trombly of Francy’s in Burlington, Vt.; and Derek Wagner of Nicks on Broadway in Providence, RI.
The awards were announced Monday in Chicago.
Hennessey has been nominated for James Beard Award recognition in the past, and has competed on the Food Network’s show “Chopped,” winning three times.
