Josh Niernberg, chef and owner of Bin707 Foodbar in Grand Junction — a Spoke+Blossom favorite — has been recognized as a 2020 James Beard Award Semifinalist, in the Best Chef: Mountain category.

The James Beard Foundation Awards (JBFA) are awarded each year to culinary professionals, often touted as the restaurant industry’s “Oscars.” In 2019, the JBFA announced the award categories would be redistricted, with a new Mountain region covering the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

Niernberg, a regular contributor to Spoke+Blossom, is known for putting the less-chartered Western Colorado region and the city of Grand Junction on the food map while utilizing the wider Mountain region as his sourcing footprint. His nomination for the award was recently announced.

“To be recognized as a James Beard Award Semifinalist is such an honor, and I am so proud to help raise the profile of the Mountain region,” says Niernberg. “My goal has always been for diners to take away the story of Grand Junction and Western Colorado in a single dish. I am proud to represent my state — most especially the Western Slope — and my hometown of Grand Junction. I am also representing the community of talented Colorado farmers and producers I work with every day.”

Niernberg and his wife Jodi opened Bin 707 Foodbar, Grand Junction’s first elevated dining experience, in 2011. Almost immediately, Bin 707 became a place where local cowboys and oilmen, alongside visiting wine tourists and mountain bikers, could gather to experience the best of New West cuisine. In 2017 Niernberg opened two new restaurant spaces: Taco Party in downtown Grand Junction, and an adjacent space, Dinner Party,

Niernberg’s mastery shines not only in the kitchen but in connections he has made with those who grow the foods he interprets. Using indigenous Ute Tribe maize for blue corn grits, he tops them with lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms grown by nearby Alpenglow Aquaponics, piling them with in-house smoked tomato and fresh radishes. He also brings that same indigenous Ute corn to an immigrant tortilla maker in Grand Junction where 10,000 tortillas a week are crafted for Taco Party. These tacos are then filled with an abundance of regionally grown produce and proteins such as Colorado Lamb, almost all ingredients exclusively sourced from the Grand Valley.

Using his own ancestor’s recipes and those of his team, Chef Niernberg has provided a framework for New West cuisine. He pairs dishes such as smoked beets with puffed elk tendon and local farm egg, with wild fermented unfiltered sparkling wines from Grand Valley AVA winemakers within the same zip code of his kitchen.

Colorado scored big on this year’s semi-finalist nominations, drawing attention to the state’s cuisine to regions across the country.

Congratulations, Josh! The Spoke+Blossom community is grateful to have your chef talents and your top-notch restaurants in Western Colorado.

Grand Junction Chef Josh Niernberg Recognized as 2020 James Beard Award Semifinalist