South by ‘SouthBest’ Chef Steve McHugh earns a “Best Chef: Southwest” nod from The James Beard Foundation
cemented a career pinnacle for chef Steve McHugh as he earned a well deserved spot on The James Beard Foundation’s semifinalists roster for Best Chef: Southwest. For a man whose life has been marked by tribulations and triumph—from beating cancer to opening his dream restaurant Cured in San Antonio—this recognition represents years of hard work that stretch well beyond the lines of the kitchen.
Culled from over 20,000 nationwide submissions, McHugh was chosen as the only Southwest semifinalist from San Antonio. Reared on a small farm in Wisconsin, this seasoned chef spent over a decade in New Orleans with chef John Besh as his chef de cuisine before relocating to Texas to open Besh’s first San Antonio outpost. Shortly after, McHugh was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, but found strength in his new community to prevail. Propelled by his new lease on life, McHugh opened Cured in late 2013 at the historic Pearl Brewery, endowing it with a name that speaks to his survival and time-honored methodologies of artisanal cured meats. This gastropub sets its focus on the purity of natural ingredients and a hands-on, unadulterated from scratch approach that finds its way to producing a seasonally dynamic menu.
Since opening, Cured has received nods as “America’s Best New Restaurant” by Bon Appétit and Esquire as well as recognition from the likes of The Wall Street Journal and Condé Nast Traveler. Always at the forefront of culinary predictions, Eater National, hailed Cured as “One of the country’s hottest charcuterie restaurants” and named McHugh one of its top 2014 chefs to watch.
While this Midwest native jokes that he’s proudly “Texas by way of New Orleans, by way of Wisconsin,” one thing is clear: home is where the heart is, and his heart is in Texas.
