This year’s Paired™ at the Great American Beer Festival is raising the bar on craft beer and food pairings. What’s Paired, you ask? In this foodie haven, just steps away from the main festival, 21 craft breweries have been selected to pour unique beers. Alongside these rare beers are expertly selected small bites imagined by award-winning chefs led by the Brewers Association’s Chef Adam Dulye.
“The menu this year is hands down the best ever created,” said event director Nancy Johnson. “Paired is potentially one of the best places in the country to see and feel the pulse of the current state of American cuisine AND beer and food pairing.”
Here’s a look at this year’s Paired chefs:
21 chefs from ten states and the United Kingdom and Mexico
In the past year Paired chefs have won:
- Kevin Nashan: 2017 James Beard Award Winner- Best Chef Midwest
- Alex Seidel: 2017 James Beard Award Finalist- Best Chef Southwest
- Mike Friedman: 2017 James Beard Award Semi-Finalist- Best Chef East and 2017 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Band of Bohemia: 2017 Michelin Guide One Star
- John Tesar: 2017 James Beard Award Finalist- Best Chef Southwest
- Tomos Parry: 2016 London Chef of the Year
- Tavernetta: 2017 James Beard Award Finalist – Outstanding Restaurant (Frasca)
- And then there’s Marc Vetri
- James Beard Outstanding Chef Semifinalist: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016
- James Beard Outstanding Chef Nominee: 2011, 2012
- James Beard Mid-Atlantic Chef Nominee: 2003, 2004
- James Beard Mid-Atlantic Chef Winner: 2005
A separate Paired ticket is required for entrance. Paired ticket holders can enter via the escalator in lower lobby D in front of the Bellco Theatre or via the main festival entrance. The menu and Paired map can be found here.
Want to attend Paired next year? Join the American Homebrewers Association for exclusive access to the members-only GABF/Paired ticket pre-sale.