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This is an undated contributed photo of Michael Bowe, executive chef at Red Yeti in Jeffersonville, Ind. Bowe grew up in Glasgow and graduated from Marshall University.
Michael Bowe, executive chef of Red Yeti in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is a semifinalist for Best Chef Great Lakes, making him a top 20 chef in the four-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
Bowe grew up in Glasgow, in the Upper Kanawha Valley, and is a graduate of Dupont High School and Marshall University. He was the executive chef and owner of the former Huntington Prime in Huntington from 2009-2013.
Mary Ellen Diaz, executive chef and owner of Alma Bea in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, is a semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast, putting her in the top 20 chefs in a six-state region that includes West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Diaz says her style, which she calls “tapa-lachian,” was inspired by the food she grew up cooking with her extended family in Charleston.
The Beard awards honor noted American chef and cookbook author James Beard and are presented annually by the JBF, a nonprofit organization with, “a mission to celebrate, support and elevate the people behind America’s food culture who champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability,” according to its website.
‘The first thing I did was hug my sous chef’
This is an undated contributed photo of Michael Bowe, executive chef at Red Yeti in Jeffersonville, Ind. Bowe grew up in Glasgow and graduated from Marshall University.
Courtesy photo
Bowe, on Wednesday, was still trying to catch his breath after getting the news.
“It's been a whirlwind of a day, and of emotions,” Bowe said. “The first thing I did was hug my sous chef Travis Dingess," who he's worked with since 2011. "I give all praise to my team."
Bowe describes Red Yeti as a farm-to-table gastropub. It’s located just over the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
"Comfortable food, but we spin it like crazy. We have tons of relationships with local farms," in the Louisville area, he said.
Bowe, 45, who completed cooking certifications from the Culinary Institute of America, said he gained a lot of maturity from his experience with Huntington Prime.
“Partying every night and trying to run a restaurant don’t go well together,” Bowe said.
“When you open a restaurant at 29 years old, I didn't handle it well at the time,” he said. “Ever since then, I've been on a totally different trajectory,” referring to his professional goals and focus.
Diaz took time off from professional cooking to raise her two children, now adults. She got back into the game when she settled in Shepherdstown.
"It was sort of a retirement plan after raising two kids," she said.
Past Beard winners in W.Va.
Paul Smith, owner of 1010 Bridge and Paulie’s Fine Italian in Charleston, won the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast. Bowe said Smith encouraged him to apply for the Beard Awards.
Jim's Steak & Spaghetti House in Huntington won best restaurant and chef in the America's Classics category in 2019.
