Materia Chef David DiStasi a James Beard Award Semifinalist
Chef David DiStasi of the acclaimed Materia Ristorantein Bantam is a semifinalist in the Best Chef: Northeast category in the 2026 James Beard Awards, presented by the James Beard Foundation which represent the pinnacle of culinary recognition in the U.S.The category includes chefs from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. See all the nation’s nominees here: https://www.jamesbeard.org/…/james-beard-award…
Final James Beard Awards restaurant and chef nominees will be announced on Tuesday, March 31, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Chef DiStasi and Materia, which offers fresh and seasonal Italian cuisine, distinctive wines and European hospitality in a charming dining room, aren’t new to top awards.
Among the honors in recent years, Materia won the Restaurant of the Year Award for Litchfield County and Chef DiStasi was named Connecticut’s Chef of the Year in the 2023 Connecticut Restaurant Association awards, called the CRAzies.
The focus at Materia is “la Materia prima,” which translates as “the raw material.” Every ingredient is carefully sourced and seasonally focused by Chef David DiStasi and his team. See the website to learn more and make a reservation: https://materiaristo.com
