HCC alum to host announcement for 'The Oscars of Food'
Mar 26, 2019
James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur and Houston Community College (HCC) alumnus Hugo Ortega will host the press conference announcing this year’s James Beard Awards finalists. The event will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 27, at his namesake Montrose restaurant Hugo’s, 1600 Westheimer Rd. The actual James Beard Foundation Awards will be held in Chicago in May.
Often referred to as “the Oscars of Food,” the James Beard Awards are among the most prestigious in the world, honoring top chefs, restaurateurs and culinary programs in the U.S.
A graduate of HCC’s culinary arts program, Ortega is one of the city’s most-respected and beloved chefs, crediting HCC with giving him a strong foundation upon which he built his business. Together with his wife, Tracy Vaught, the pair own and operate Backstreet Café, Caracol, Hugo’s, Origen and Xochi, under the banner of H-Town Restaurant Group.
“My time with Houston Community College’s culinary arts program had an important impact upon me and is one of the factors that has helped me achieve success,” says Ortega. “I was able to take my inspirations and first cooking ‘classes’ from my grandmother, along with my natural love of food and cooking and combine them with technical skills and international influences and knowledge to become more well-rounded.”
That depth of experience led Ortega down a path of success in Houston, but it wasn’t easy. He was nominated six times in a row before winning the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Southwest award in 2017, making him one of only four Houston winners. Ortega came to Houston from Mexico as a teenager and began work as a janitor and a dishwasher, the position he held at Backstreet Café. After earning a position cooking on the line in the kitchen, Vaught was so impressed with his work ethic and ambition that she offered to pay for his culinary arts courses at HCC. After earning his associate degree, Ortega went on to become executive chef at Backstreet, and married Vaught in 1994.
They opened Hugo’s in 2002, showcasing the regional Mexican cuisine of his youth, but in an elegant atmosphere. Ortega learned to cook in his native Mexico, by helping his grandmother in the kitchen. He’s said often he cherishes those moments, not only instilling him with the values of hard work, but also for helping him learn about his heritage.
He has returned to that heritage again and again as he and Vaught have opened restaurants paying homage to the foods of his family and his native Mexico. He credits the opportunities he had at Houston restaurants and at HCC for helping him become the chef he is today.
“I am a proud alumnus of HCC!” says Ortega, who occasionally reaches out to HCC’s program when he has opportunities at his restaurants.
This year, Hugo’s is up for a James Beard Award in the Outstanding Service category; Vaught is also nominated in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. Several other Houston restaurants are also up for awards.
The press conference will be streamed online, with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announcing the finalists. The winners will be announced at the James Beard Awards ceremony Monday, May 6, in Chicago.