-New York
-FF chef Andri Jones won his first career NCA award Sunday, claiming the inaugural instatement of the "Best Russian" award, surprising pundits who predicted that fellow FF chef Alexei Aiber, also a Russian but also much older and more experienced, would walk away with the title.
But Aiber was not sore. "So happy to hear about @Andri_Jones winning inaugural #NCABestRussian!!!" Aiber tweeted.
Jones was asleep in Russia and had not yet been notified of his victory at press time. Aiber, a Russian expatriate, lives in the U.S. and was among the first to congratulate Jones.
"Andri Jones is one of our shining new chefs," Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt said, "and we could not be prouder of his award here today. We also are incredibly tickled pink to see that Alexei Aiber has also podiumed."
Jones grabbed 11.4% of the vote, Aiber 9.8% of the vote, and Andri's brother Petr, also a Feast Fest chef, garnered 1.19% of the vote at seventh place, just falling short of podiuming.
FF Wire Service
