MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin is home to the best chef in the Midwest, according to the 2022 James Beard Award results.

Dane Baldwin, the chef and owner of The Diplomat in Milwaukee, was named the Best Chef in the Midwest in this year’s James Beard Awards. The awards ceremony took place Monday in Chicago.

"I didn't expect to win an award tonight, but you have to expect the unexpected" Baldwin said during his acceptance speech Monday. "I want to thank first, my wife, who has definitely been the pillar behind anything I've done since the day I've met her."

It’s Baldwin’s first James Beard Award, but he has been a semifinalist for the same category in 2020 and 2019. The last Wisconsin chef to take home the Best Chef: Midwest award was Chef Justin Aprahamian from Sanford in 2014. Chef Tory Miller of L’Etoile won in 2012.

"I want to thank everyone who's ever taken a chance on me. I'm just so grateful; I'm at a loss for words," Baldwin said.

The region encompassed Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Chef Karen Bell from Bavette La Boucherie in Milwaukee and Chef Gregory León from Amilinda in Milwaukee were nominated in the category.

The three Wisconsin chefs faced off against three restaurants from Minneapolis.

Baldwin opened The Diplomat in 2017, after working at a variety of other Wisconsin restaurants, including: Mr. B’s Steakhouse, Harbor House, Ryan Braun’s Graffito, Carnevor Steakhouse and Bacchus. His signature dish is beef short ribs. 

The Diplomat features a rotating menu of sharable plates. The American cuisine restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. For more information, click here.