Bryden Wood at 25

is ideal for anyone with a sweet tooth.

The process for finding each year's Best New Chefs has remained largely unchanged since 1988.It begins with a pool of nominees, many of whom are suggested by Best New Chef alumni, scouted on previous trips, vouched for by Food & Wine editors and trusted friends, or from an open call to the industry.

Then the vetting for eligibility begins: Nominees must have full creative control of the menu — but only for five or fewer years (the threshold for being considered "new").With these filters in place, the list shrinks considerably.Then editors fan out, and they eat — often five or six meals a day..

The sheer enormity of the task tends to force perspective.When one dish stands out among 15 you've eaten that day, you know you've hit on something truly novel.

Kate Krader, Food & Wine restaurant editor and lead architect of Best New Chefs from 1995 to 1999 and 2003 to 2016, still remembers the standout dishes she ate during those years with epiphanic clarity.. Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.

"I remember John Shields at Town House in Chilhowie, Virginia, had a beautiful salad of shaved vegetables made into little swirls," Krader says.My family’s restaurant has felt the pressure to perform kindness out of the sake of maintaining historical ideations of "Thainess.".

A History of the Burger: From Ancient Rome to the Drive-Thru.Along with this emotional labor, comes the changes that Thai restaurants make to their menus in order to appeal to Western palates.

This can be frustrating for my family, but they are necessary to keep their business running.I have witnessed firsthand the sensitivities around the expression of Thai food for American audiences, including being scared to serve dishes that may be deemed too spicy, omitting fish sauce from Pad Thai to-go orders because too many people complained about the smell, and always agreeing with the customer, even if they’re really, really wrong..