At Your Service: Local Restaurateur Honored With Julia Child Award

Since he co-founded Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder more than twenty years ago, we've always known that Bobby Stuckey was a winner. And now he's been chosen as the eleventh-ever recipient of the Julia Child Award, an honor that will be announced tonight in California by the tenth recipient: the legendary Alice Waters of Chez Panisse.

Other JCA winners include José Andrés, Jacques Pépin, Toni Tipton-Martin, Rick Bayless and Danny Meyer. The recognition comes a year after Stuckey was honored with Food & Wine’s second annual Mentorship Award, presented at the 2024 Classic in Aspen (the first to win that award was Pépin).

The JCA award comes with a $50,000 grant from the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, which Stuckey will use to support the Bobby and Danette Stuckey Endowed Scholarship for the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University, his alma mater.

After school, Stuckey worked his way from busboy to award-winning restaurateur. He co-founded the Frasca Hospitality Group, which owns Frasca, two Tavernetta restaurants (at Union Station and in Vail), Sunday Vinyl in Union Station, Osteria Alberico and Pizzeria Alberico. A founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, he's also a Master Sommelier who's co-owner of the Scarpetta Wine label and Benvenusa wine import company....and is keeping a close eye on what tariffs could do to local wine businesses.

"I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Julia Child Foundation," says Stuckey in a statement. "Julia's impact on American culinary culture extends far beyond cooking techniques – she championed education, excellence, and the joy that comes from sharing good food and wine. These values have guided my career, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward through the NAU scholarship, supporting the next generation of hospitality professionals, and particularly first-generation college students."

And the awards could keep coming. Frasca is nominated for the 2025 Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation; the winner will be announced June 16. Over the past two decades, Frasca has won more than a dozen Beard awards, including three medals for Outstanding Wine and Beverage Services, as well as Wine, Beer and Service Professional.