D.C. Represents at the James Beard Awards

Congratulations to chef Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central for bringing home the prestigious Outstanding Chef Award at the James Beard Foundation Awards last night. Joining him in representing D.C. were Citronelle sommelier Mark Slater, who won the award for Outstanding Wine Service, and RJ Cooper of Vidalia, who was awarded Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.

Above, Thomas Keller (who won Outstanding Restaurateur) and Daniel Boulud join Richard in celebrating after the awards.

Developing ... Did Frank Ruta of Palena also win in the Mid-Atlantic category? See the City Paper's rundown of the confusion here. As of 11 p.m. Tuesday night, the Beard Web site indicated that Cooper and Ruta shared the honor in a tie.

(Photo by Michael Birchenall.)