Night + Market's Kris Yenbamroong Wins Food & Wine Best New Chef 2016

Night + Market chef/owner Kris Yenbamroong came up big this weekend, walking away with a Best New Chef nod from Food & Wine. It marks a watershed moment for the Thai chef, who grew up in his parents kitchens before branching out with his own version of casual Thai street food, served first at his original location in West Hollywood and now at Song, his follow up option in Silver Lake.

The annual list of Best New Chefs tends to be a pretty great barometer for future success. As Eater notes, past winners have included such luminaries as Nancy Silverton, Tom Colicchio, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, April Bloomfield, and Daniel Boulud. The award goes specifically to those chefs who have been "in charge of a kitchen for five years or fewer."

Yenbamroong is the only chef from Los Angeles to make the final list, with others like David Barzelay from Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Jeremiah Stone / Fabian von Hauske from Wildair and Contra in New York City also earning nods. And as if that weren't enough, he has even more reason to celebrate today: he married longtime partner Sarah St. Lifer in a small ceremony at the original Night + Market over the weekend.