The James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards will be held outside New York for the first time this year, but the Big Apple nonetheless garnered top nominations in the honors, which were released Tuesday.
Two New York City venues were nominated in the Best New Restaurant category: Bâtard and Cosme. Also on the list are Central Provisions in Portland, Maine, Parachute in Chicago, Petit Trois in Los Angeles, The Progress in San Francisco, and Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis.
In the Outstanding Restaurant category, which honors a restaurant that is at least 10 years old and, according to the Beard Foundation, “serves as a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere, and service,” three of the five nominees are located in New York: Momofuku Noodle Bar, Per Se and The Spotted Pig. A fourth nominee, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is not far away, in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. The fifth nominee in the category, Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Ala., is the only restaurant in the category that also was nominated last year, something of a shakeup in the relatively staid category.
There was also a shakeup in the Rising Star Chef of the Year award, which goes to a chef age 30 or younger. Only Jessica Largey of Manresa, in Los Gatos, Calif., was nominated again this year, joined by five newcomers: Tanya Baker of Boarding House in Chicago, Alex Bois of High Street Market in Philadelphia, Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground in Washington, D.C., Cara Stadler of Tao Yuan in Brunswick, Maine, and Ari Taymor of Alma in Los Angeles.
Charleston, S.C., also received an unusually high number of nominations, with Sean Brock of Husk nominated for Outstanding Chef and two of the city’s restaurants, Fig and McCrady’s, nominated for Outstanding Wine Program. Fig chef Jason Stanhope was also nominated for Best Chef, Southeast.
Last year, 60 percent of the nominees had also been nominated in 2013. This year, 48 percent of the nominees were nominated in the same category last year, excluding Best New Restaurant, in which all nominees are new, and the new category of Outstanding Baker, which goes to a baker or pastry chef in a retail shop. The award for Outstanding Pastry Chef recognizes a chef working in a restaurant.
The nominees were narrowed down from a list of semifinalists released last month, who were voted on by a panel of more than 600 judges, including past winners, restaurant critics, food and wine editors and culinary educators. The same panel will vote on the finalists. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at Lyric Opera of Chicago on May 4.
See the full list of nominees in the 20 restaurant and chef categories, which also includes Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional:
Best New Restaurant
Bâtard, New York City
Central Provisions, Portland, Maine
Cosme, New York City
Parachute, Chicago
Petit Trois, Los Angeles
The Progress, San Francisco
Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis
Outstanding Baker
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Cafe, Boston
Mark Furstenberg, Bread Furst, Washington, D.C.
Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, New York City
Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, B. Patisserie, San Francisco
William Werner, Craftsman and Wolves, San Francisco
Outstanding Bar Program
Arnaud's French 75 Bar, New Orleans
Bar Agricole, San Francisco
Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Trick Dog, San Francisco
The Violet Hour, Chicago
Outstanding Chef
Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern, New York City
Sean Brock, Husk, Charleston, S.C.
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans
Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Dana Cree, Blackbird, Chicago
Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, Mass.
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Ghaya Oliveira, Daniel, New York City
Christina Tosi, Momofuku, New York City
Outstanding Restaurant
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, N.Y.
Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, Ala.
Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York City
Per Se, New York City
The Spotted Pig, New York City
Outstanding Restaurateur
JoAnn Clevenger, Upperline, New Orleans
Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group, Chicago (Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, and others)
Michael Mina, Mina Group, San Francisco (Michael Mina, RN74, Bourbon Steak, and others)
Cindy Pawlcyn, Napa, Calif. (Mustards Grill, Cindy's Back Street Kitchen, and Cindy's Waterfront at the Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurants, Philadelphia (The Dandelion, Talula's Garden, Serpico and others)
Outstanding Service
The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tenn.
Marea, New York City
Quince, San Francisco
Restaurant August, New Orleans
Topolobampo, Chicago
Outstanding Wine Program
A16, San Francisco
Bern's Steak House, Tampa, Fla.
Fig, Charleston, S.C.
McCrady's, Charleston, S.C.
Spago, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional
Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.
Ron Cooper, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Ranchos de Taos, N.M.
Ted Lemon, Littorai Wines, Sebastopol, Calif.
Rajat Parr, Mina Group, San Francisco
Harlen Wheatley, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Ky.
More 2015 award nominees
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Tanya Baker, Boarding House, Chicago
Alex Bois, High Street on Market, Philadelphia
Erik Bruner-Yang, Toki Underground, Washington, D.C.
Jessica Largey, Manresa, Los Gatos, Calif.
Cara Stadler, Tao Yuan, Brunswick, Maine
Ari Taymor, Alma, Los Angeles
Best Chef: Great Lakes (Ill., Ind., Mich., and Ohio)
Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago
Jonathon Sawyer, Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland
Paul Virant, Vie, Western Springs, Ill.
Erling Wu-Bower, Nico Osteria, Chicago
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., Del, Md., N.J., Pa., and Va.)
Joe Cicala, Le Virtù, Philadelphia
Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore
Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
Greg Vernick, Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia
Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore
Best Chef: Midwest (Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D., and Wis.)
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Justin Carlisle, Ardent, Milwaukee
Gerard Craft, Niche, Clayton, Mo.
Michelle Gayer, Salty Tart, Minneapolis
Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, Minn.
Best Chef: Northeast (Conn., Mass., Maine, N.H., R.I., Vt., and N.Y., excluding New York City)
Karen Akunowicz, Myers + Chang, Boston
Barry Maiden, Hungry Mother, Cambridge, Mass.
Masa Miyake, Miyake, Portland, Maine
Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, Mass.
Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley, Eventide Oyster Co., Portland, Maine
Best Chef: Northwest (Alaska, Id., Mont., Ore., Wash. and Wyo.)
Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Ox, Portland, Ore.
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Lummi Island, Wash.
Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland, Ore.
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle
Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
Marco Canora, Hearth
Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, Carbone
Mark Ladner, Del Posto
Anita Lo, Annisa
Ignacio Mattos, Estela
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
Best Chef: South (Ala., Ark., Fla., La., Miss., and Puerto Rico)
Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, Miss.
Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans
Jose Enrique, Jose Enrique, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Slade Rushing, Brennan's, New Orleans
Alon Shaya, Domenica, New Orleans
Best Chef: Southeast (Ga., Ky., N.C., S.C., Tenn., and W.Va.)
John Fleer, Rhubarb, Asheville, N.C.
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, Ky.
Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta
Jason Stanhope, Fig, Charleston, S.C.
Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis, Tenn.
Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville, Tenn.
Best Chef: Southwest (Ariz., Colo., N.M., Okla., Texas and Utah)
Kevin Binkley, Binkley’s, Cave Creek, Ariz.
Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue, Austin, Texas
Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin, Texas
Hugo Ortega, Hugo’s, Houston
Martín Rios, Restaurant Martín, Santa Fe, N.M.
Justin Yu, Oxheart, Houston
Best Chef: West (Calif., Hawaii and Nev.)
Matthew Accarrino, SPQR, San Francisco
Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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