Chef Rung Morgan enjoys a quiet meal in her restaurant in this 2016 photo. Morgan was named the best chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation this week. (Herald File / Bob Eddy)
On Monday evening, chef Nisachon “Rung” Morgan of Saap restaurant in Randolph was named the best chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, the preeminent culinary-arts organization in the United States.
With a post simply stating “Rung won!” on the Saap Facebook page, word of Morgan’s win quickly spread as comments began to pile up on the page.
Now renowned for its distinctive Northern Thai cuisine, Saap restaurant has built a dedicated following in recent years—a fanbase that expanded significantly with this year’s announcement that the restaurant’s chef was in the running for a James Beard Award.
Announced from the Lyric Opera stage in Chicago before about 1,800 guests, the foundation handed out awards for best chef in several geographic division of the United States. The Northeast Division, in which Morgan competed, comprises eateries from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, according to the James Beard Foundation.
Nisachon Morgan speaks onstage during the 2022 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards at Lyric Opera of Chicago on June 13, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Schear / Getty Images for the James Beard Foundation )
“Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards are among the nation’s most prestigious honors recognizing leaders in the culinary and food media industries,” the release stated.
Morgan’s win comes at the end of a multi-layered process that began with an open call for recommendations from scouts, subcommittee members of the foundation, and the general public. From there, 20 semifinalists were picked by the foundation’s subcommittee. Next, those semifinalists were winnowed down to just five by the sub-committee, scouts, and tasting panelists. From these five finalists, a winner was finally chosen for each division and announced during the glitzy award ceremony in Chicago.
According to the James Beard Foundation’s website, Morgan’s recognition is just the second in the history of the Green Mountain State. The only other James Beard award to be given to a Vermont chef or restaurant went to Al’s French Fries in South Burlington, which earned an award for restaurant and chef in 2010.
Nisachon Morgan and her husband and business partner, chef Steve Morgan, could not be reached by press time. The pair have operated Saap at the Kimball House on Randolph Avenue since 2015.