New San Antonio Bar Jue Let Will Pay Homage to James Beard’s Chinese Father Figure | Eater Austin
"This Asian–Texas restaurant is led by chef-owner Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin, a Chinese–Taiwanese American and multiple James Beard Award semifinalist (including Emerging Chef finalist in 2023 and a recent semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas). Opened in 2020, the restaurant reflects Dobbertin’s roots as a Chinese–Taiwanese American raised and still living in Texas; its bar program is closely connected to the forthcoming tribute cocktail bar, with Lis Forsythe (the mastermind behind this restaurant’s bar menu) tapped as beverage director for the new project. Discussing her motivation for the new bar after the recent semifinalist recognition, Dobbertin says: “The only thing I knew about it was what I saw among my peers in the restaurant industry — that mostly white male chefs that run fancy restaurants really want this award,” she says. “I assumed James Beard was a white male chef that ran fancy restaurants, but he was an incredibly dynamic man.” She emphasizes Beard’s unexpected Chinese influences in childhood: “I also learned he had a Chinese nanny, grew up with another Chinese family, and was surrounded by Chinese culture during childhood,” Dobbertin says, framing her existing restaurant’s perspective and the new project as part of an effort to surface overlooked figures and histories in American food culture." - Brittany Britto Garley
