Many of the winning chefs of the 2008 James Beard Awards came from smaller neighborhood restaurants and modest cafes instead of the more famous, brand name restaurants of previous years. Could this represent a sea change in American cuisine?

Seeking to discover tomorrow’s superstar chefs in the making, Food & Wine’s previous awardees included Thomas Keller in 1988, Nobu Matsuhisa in 1989, and Rick Bayless in 1988. Check out this story to find out about the next crop of celebrity chefs in the making.