Food & Wine magazine’s July issue names this year’s best new chefs, and among the list of talented newcomers is Spinasse chef Jason Stratton.

Stratton took the helm at Spinasse last year after a stint at Poppy, and has been wowing diners since with dishes such as Tajarin al ragù o burro e salvia (fine hand cut egg pasta with ragù or butter and sage) and Cipollini ripieni di baccalà mantecata (cipollini stuffed with salt cod, with caramelized celery and pinenuts). As part of the celebration, Stratton is headed off to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival on June 17th where he’ll be cooking with the nine other Best New Chefs.

With the Best New Chef selection, Stratton is in great company, joining past Seattle winners Mark Fuller (Spring Hill), Matt Dillon (The Corson Building and Sitka & Spruce), Ethan Stowell (Anchovies & Olives, How To Cook A Wolf, Tavolàta) and Maria Hines (Tilth).

For more Best New Chef goodness, check out this video of Stratton giving Food & Wine the inside scoop.

Monsoon East has been selected as a Top 3 Finalist for 2010 Haute Picks Award in the category of “Best Seafood Restaurant” by the Bellevue Downtown Association (BDA)!

This is BDA’s 8^th annual “Best of Downtown” competition. Previous winners include Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar for best seafood, and Monsoon East’s neighbor, La Ree, for best boutique.

Online ballots were collected from February 27 through April 2 and the winner will be announced on April 27 at The Westin Bellevue.

Fingers crossed and good luck!

Food & Wine magazine has announced that Spinasse’s Chef Jason Stratton is among the winners of the magazine’s highest honor, the coveted Best New Chef award. The awards were announced tonight at The Four Season Restaurant in New York City. Chef Stratton is the only Seattle chef to receive this honor in 2010.

Launched in 1988, this annual award recognizes up-and-coming chefs who display an innovative culinary style and distinctive vision in creating exceptionally delicious food.

The 2010 winners will be featured in the July issue of the magazine, and will travel to Aspen, Colorado for the 28^th annual Food & Wine Classic from June 18 to 20.

The Best New Chef awards are based on a months-long selection process that includes the input of restaurant critics, food writers and other culinary experts around the country who help identify outstanding chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen for less than five years. From there, Food & Wine editors travel around the country incognito tasting the food of potential winners  before coming to their final decision.

Click here for Chef Stratton’s bio.

Congratulations to Chef Stratton and the Spinasse team for this incredible honor!