Vote Now for Boston’s Chef of the Year [POLL CLOSED]

Welcome to day two of the ninth annual Eater Awards, honoring the most talented restaurant and bar industry gurus in cities across the world. Here’s a refresher on how the Eater Awards work, in case you’re just tuning in: All 24 Eater cities and the national site will grant prizes in multiple categories, including but not limited to Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, and Design of the Year.

In each category, there will be an editors’ choice winner (chosen by the editorial staff of each Eater site) and a readers’ choice winner (chosen by poll) — all to be announced on December 5, 2018. The readers’ choice winners get unlimited bragging rights as Eater fan favorites. The editors’ choice winners will each receive an illustrious tomato can trophy, as is the tradition around here.

And that’s not all. Over the course of the coming year, stay tuned for features highlighting what makes each of the editors’ choice winners so great.

A few notes on nominee eligibility: As with all Eater Boston coverage, the Eater Awards cover not just Boston proper but Cambridge, Somerville, and a bit beyond. Secondly, the Awards focus solely on restaurants that opened in the past year (including openings from late 2017, after nominations closed for that year’s awards, which means that late 2018 openings will be considered next year). And thirdly, nominees are not repeated among the five awards categories, so if you’re wondering why your favorite restaurant isn’t included today, keep an eye out: It may appear in one of the other categories, which will all be announced over the course of this week.

Yesterday, you voted on Restaurant of the Year. Today: Chef of the Year.

Eater Boston’s 2018 nominees in the Chef of the Year category are cooking up everything from Mediterranean food with New England ingredients to fancy bar snacks, from beautiful baked goods to proper Southern food.

Brush up on the details on today’s nominees before voting, if you’d like:

• Jason Cheek of Southern Proper: Cheek, an alum of Toro and KO Prime, promised a relaxing South End destination for food inspired by his native North Carolina, and he delivered, especially on the fried chicken front. Read more.
• John daSilva of Chickadee: Spoke Wine Bar and No. 9 Park alum John daSilva teamed up with fellow No. 9 Park alum Ted Kilpatrick to open Chickadee on the far end of the Seaport District this year — an ode to Mediterranean cuisine, influenced by the best of New England’s seasonal, local ingredients. Read more.
• Tiffani Faison of Fool’s Errand: Faison is no stranger to the Boston food scene; with partner Kelly Walsh, she has taken over Fenway with Sweet Cheeks, Tiger Mama, and her newest Boylston Street addition, Fool’s Errand, a standing-room-only “adult snack bar” with fancy finger foods, creative cocktails, and the best bathroom art of the year. Read more.
• Tzurit Or of Tatte Bakery & Cafe: While Tatte is far from new — the original location opened in Brookline a decade ago — Or has expanded the brand dramatically in 2018, opening three new locations and continuing to plan further expansion, even out of state, spreading beautiful pastries and shakshuka near and far. Read more.

Now, without any further ado, it’s time to vote for the readers’ choice winner in the Chef of the Year category; come back each day this week to vote in three more categories. Polls will be open for 24 hours (beginning at 10 a.m. each day) and will be strictly policed for funny business.

Cast your vote for Chef of the Year now; the poll closes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 28:

Note: If you cannot see the above poll, please try again in a different browser or on a different device; there is a known issue regarding the poll not showing up on AMP and Apple News platforms.