Grant Achatz, a 34-year-old chef who runs a top-rated restaurant called Alinea in Chicago, has been selected the recipient of the prestigious James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Chef" award. At the New York ceremony he received the second prize from the Foundation after last year's "Best Chef: Great Lakes" award.

The awards were co-hosted by Kim Cattrall, best known for her role in "Sex and the City." More than 400 persons voted for the 2008 awards, including 250 regional judges.

Achatz battled stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, which he managed to overcome without ruining his sense of taste as some had feared. An aggressive protocol of chemotherapy and radiation administered at the University of Chicago Medical Center allegedly drove his cancer into full remission.

Grant Achatz credits his outstanding skill at least in part to his time at Thomas Keller's renowned Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry.

His Alinea restaurant in Chicago opened in 2005 and won Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet Magazine one year later. In 2007, it won the AAA Five Diamond Award and the Mobil Five Star Award, as well as three Jean Banchet Awards. Also, Restaurant Magazine added Alinea to its top 50 restaurants in the world at number 36, moving it up this year to number 21 in the world.