Last year, Lassiter and Savang of Talat Market were nominated for Best Chef: Southeast, but they came up short. Paul Smith of 1010 Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia, took home the Beard award.

In his palace in steamy Vientiane one day last week, handsome King Savang Vatthana of Laos stared thoughtfully at a freshly opened cable from U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold.

King Savang Vatthana gathered the Cabinet in the National Assembly and gave his official blessings before a gilt statue of Buddha. Approached by a reporter in Cambodia at this point, Souvanna ...

“We recently got nominated for a James Beard Award and we are seeing a lot of new people here,” wrote Talat Market co-chef Parnass Savang. “Talat’s journey has had ups and downs but we keep fighting ...