When Matt Kern was growing up in the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, area, he often felt like he didn’t belong. That changed when he was 14 and started working in a restaurant kitchen. “I immediately felt comfortable,” recalled Kern, who couldn’t afford culinary school tuition. His sense of belonging has reached a new level. This morning, the James Beard Foundation released the Restaurant and …
One Coastal’s Matt Kern is James Beard Award semifinalist
Matt Kern, chef and owner of One Coastal in Fenwick Island, is a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic category. This is Kern’s third semifinalist nomination. He was a semifinalist in 2019 and 2020 while working at Heirloom in Lewes. “It’s way different,” this time, said Kern, who purchased One Coastal from Scott and Carlie Carey in 2022. “I have …