“I don’t look at those lists. I didn’t even know that’s what people do.”
As it turns out, a lot of people were tuned in on January 25, 2023 when the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its Restaurant and Chef Awards. Jamie Brown-Soukaseume was not one of those anxiously awaiting the breaking news.
The executive chef and co-owner of Ahan learned she had been nominated for a James Beard Award in the Emerging Chef category through a congratulatory text message from a former restaurant regular. Jamie was stunned. Being selected as a candidate for one of the most prestigious culinary awards caught Jamie completely by surprise, but the subsequent growth of her fame and restaurant came as a shock to no one who had ever tasted her food.
Last October, Jamie, along with husband and co-owner, Chuckie Brown-Soukaseume, moved their Laotian restaurant Ahan, to a new, larger space on Madison’s Williamson Street from their former location at the Bur Oak event venue. “A lot changed when Jamie got nominated,” said Chuckie. “We were always really busy, but then it became [un] sustainable in [that] location.”
The couple had plenty of experience scaling up their operation from its humble beginnings in early 2020. “We had just secured a very tiny food cart and started doing pop-ups at the Robin Room,” said Chuckie. With lines down the street from the bar, they quickly knew they were going to have to think bigger. They moved into the (not much) larger kitchen of the Bur Oak in August of that year and over the next three years became one of Madison’s favorite takeout spots.
Transitioning from primarily takeout to a large restaurant space has been relatively smooth for the seasoned duo, thanks in part to the two culinary legacies Jamie has inherited—one through her family and the other through her culinary family. “I’ve been in the restaurant industry my whole entire life… since I was three,” says Jamie.
Her mother Manola Hoang, a chef herself for 35 years, had left Laos during the Vietnam War. She brought her skills and family recipes to Wisconsin—first at her Chinese American restaurant in La Crosse and later at Madison’s Ha Long Bay, owned by Jamie’s aunt. When Jamie and Chuckie opened Ahan, Hoang was right by their side, working together with her daughter to capture authentic Laotian flavors, utilizing recipes handed down through the generations with local ingredients.
Dishes like their pho, khao soi and papaya salad are Hoang’s own recipes which Jamie grew up eating. The khao soi luang prabang is a dish passed on by Jamie’s grandmother, featuring wide or rice noodles in chicken broth, ground pork, tomato, fermented soybean and chili. Jamie’s menu draws inspiration from her past as well as the abundance from area farms like Enos Farms, Stack Farms and Food Co., Vitruvian Farms, Garden To Be and Bee Charmer.
After hours of steeping and cooking to develop flavors, Jamie takes these dishes and presents them with modern plating techniques—techniques honed over the years working in Tory Miller’s kitchens. A James Beard Award winner himself, the executive chef and co-owner of L’Etoile and Graze on Madison’s capitol square hired a 20-year-old Jamie right after she graduated from the Madison College culinary arts program.
Jamie’s time at L’Etoile, Estrellón and Sujeo allowed her to work alongside chefs like Tory and his teams who provided much more than just culinary experience. “They’re so creative, passionate, hardworking,” said Jamie. “They are really people you can look up to.”
As Jamie looks to some Madison greats for inspiration, she herself is becoming a culinary icon in a city known for its talented chefs and dynamic restaurant scene. Jamie joins a list of over 10 Madison chefs to win or be nominated for a James Beard Award in the past 10 years. That recognition may be what brings some initially to Ahan, but it’s the deep, vibrant flavors along with the care of an incredible team that’s keeping tables packed night after night.
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