Simsbury Restaurant Contends For Prestigious Awards

SIMSBURY, CT —The Connecticut Restaurant Association announced Thursday award winners and nominees for the 2021 CRAzies Awards Gala presented by Sysco, LLC, including a restaurant from Simsbury nominated in multiple categories.

Each year, the CRAzies recognizes the exceptional ability and talent of Connecticut's restaurant community at this prestigious awards gala. Restaurant owners, operators, chefs, vendors and more will come together to celebrate the success of the industry at Foxwoods Resort Casino on Dec. 6.

"We are extremely excited to celebrate our industry at the 2021 CRAzies, especially at a time when Connecticut's local restaurants and caterers have been through so much, and worked so hard, over these past 19 months," said Connecticut Restaurant Association Executive Director Scott Dolch. "Congratulations to our 2021 award winners and nominees, plus a special thank you to the efforts of the nominating panel who provided valuable insight throughout the selection process."

The CRAzies selection process began earlier this week when a panel of more than 25 food writers, critics, bloggers, and social media influencers sat down to finalize the list of award winners and nominees. Restaurateur of the Year, CT Hospitality Hall of Fame, Vendor of the Year and Friend of the Industry nominees were brought to the CRA Board of Directors, where the overall winners were selected in each of these four categories.

In the remaining categories, the public can now vote by CLICKING HERE through the end of November for each category: Chef of the Year, Pastry Chef/Baker of the Year, Bartender of the Year, Server of the Year, Caterer of the Year, Restaurant Newcomer, People's Choice, Regional Restaurants of the Year and Overall Restaurant of the Year. Winners will be selected from not only the public vote, but also from our nominating panel members.

For Chef of the Year, the five finalists include Michone Danae Arrington from The Art of Yum (Waterbury), Ashley Flagg from Millwright’s (Simsbury), Joel Gargano from Grano Arso (Chester), Emily Mingrone from Tavern on State (New Haven) and Manuel Romero from Olea (New Haven).

The 2021 Pastry Chef/Baker of the Year finalists are Kristin Eddy from Millwright’s (Simsbury), Chan Graham from BouNom Bakery (Avon), David Vacca from Nana’s Bakery & Pizza (Mystic) and Rob VanKeuren from Flour Water Salt Bread (Darien).

For Restaurant of the Year, the CRA recognizes four different regional winners as well as an overall winner from the sixteen nominees.

Finalists from the North Region (Hartford & Tolland Counties) are Arugula (West Hartford), Millwright’s (Simsbury), Present Company (Simsbury) and Shu Restaurant (West Hartford).