Hungry Mother's Barry Maiden Takes Home a James Beard

The field of Boston-area contenders for this year's Beard awards was whittled down from 20 semifinalists to six finalists, and in the end, only one local chef took home a medal — Barry Maiden, chef/proprietor of Hungry Mother and State Park, both in Kendall Square. The category: Best Chef — Northeast. ("Sweet speech, sweet beard," notes the Eater.com liveblogging team.)

Maiden opened Hungry Mother in 2008 with John Kessen, Alon Munzer, and Rachel Miller Munzer, and the team opened State Park, Hungry Mother's "obnoxious little sister," in 2013.

For Eater.com, Ryan Sutton breaks down the final list of last night's winners, noting that New York dominated the top awards this year.