James Beard Foundation names 2016 award nomineesJames Beard Foundation names 2016 award nominees

For the second year in a row, there has been a shakeup in the Rising Star category of the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards, with only one nominee returning from last year.

The nominees for all 21 categories were announced Tuesday, and the winners will be named during a gala ceremony at the Lyric Opera in Chicago on May 2.

Alex Bois of High Street on Market in Philadelphia has once again been nominated for the potentially career-accelerating Rising Star Chef of the Year award, which goes to a chef of age 30 or younger “who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to make a significant impact on the industry in years to come,” according to the award description.

Bois is the only chef nominated last year for the award who was also nominated this year. The other nominees are Angela Dimayuga of Mission Chinese Food in New York City; Grae Nonas of Olamaie in Austin, Texas; Matt Rudofker of Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York City; Daniela Soto-Innes of Cosme in New York City; and Jenner Tomaska of Next in Chicago.

Last year, Jessica Largey of Manresa was the only returning chef in the category, and she ended up winning the award.

Otherwise, most of the nominees are the same ones as last year, with 57 percent of chefs, restaurants and restaurateurs who were nominated last year also making it to the slate in the same category this year, excluding the category for best new restaurant, all of which are new.

In that category, usually dominated by more established foodie cities such as New York and San Francisco, Death & Taxes, a restaurant in Raleigh, N.C., received a nomination.

Also of note:

• The Beard Foundation’s hometown of New York City didn’t receive any nominations for Outstanding Chef. Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern in New York took that honor last year.

• Best chef in the Great Lakes region will definitely go to a Chicago chef, since only chefs from that city were nominated. Jonathon Sawyer of Greenhouse Tavern, the only non-Chicago chef nominated last year, took the award in 2015.

Here is the full list of nominees in the 21 restaurant and chef categories, which also includes Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional:

Best New Restaurant
Death & Taxes, Raleigh, N.C.
Launderette, Austin, Texas
Liholiho Yacht Club, San Francisco
Shaya, New Orleans
Staplehouse, Atlanta
Wildair, New York City

Outstanding Baker
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery Café, Boston
Mark Furstenberg, Bread Furst, Washington, D.C.
Zachary Golper, Bien Cuit, Brooklyn, N.Y.
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
Clyde Common, Portland, Ore.
Cure, New Orleans
Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Outstanding Chef
Sean Brock, Husk, Nashville
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans
Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia
Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Meg Galus, Boka, Chicago
Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, Mass.
Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Ala.
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Ghaya Oliveira, Daniel, New York City
Jennifer Yee, Lafayette, New York City

Outstanding Restaurant
Alinea, Chicago
Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder, Colo.
Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, Ala.
Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York City
The Spotted Pig, New York City

Outstanding Restaurateur
Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, Swift & Sons, and others)
Ken Friedman, New York City (The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, Tosca Café)
Michael Mina, Mina Restaurants, San Francisco (Michael Mina, Bourbon Steak, RN74, and others)
Cindy Pawlcyn, Napa, Calif. (Mustards Grill, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Cindy's Waterfront at the Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurants, Philadelphia (Serpico, The Dandelion, Talula's Garden, and others)

Outstanding Service
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, N.Y.
Eleven Madison Park, New York City
North Pond, Chicago
Quince, San Francisco
Topolobampo, Chicago

Outstanding Wine Program
Bern’s Steakhouse, Tampa, Fla.
Canlis, Seattle
Commander’s Palace, New Orleans
FIG, Charleston, S.C.
Sepia, Chicago

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.
Miljenko Grgich, Grgich Hills Estate, Rutherford, Calif.
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine
Harlen Wheatley Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Ky.

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Alex Bois, High Street on Market, Philadelphia
Angela Dimayuga, Mission Chinese Food, New York City
Grae Nonas, Olamaie, Austin
Matt Rudofker, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, New York City
Daniela Soto-Innes, Cosme, New York City
Jenner Tomaska, Next, Chicago

Best Chef: Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio)
Abraham Conlon, Fat Rice, Chicago
Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago
Lee Wolen, Boka, Chicago
Erling Wu-Bower, Nico Osteria, Chicago
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia)
Peter Chang, Peter Chang, Arlington, Va.
Eli Kulp, Fork, Philadelphia
Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
Aaron Silverman, Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.
Greg Vernick, Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia
Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore

Best Chef: Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin)
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Justin Carlisle, Ardent, Milwaukee
Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Café, St. Louis
Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, Minn.
Kevin Willmann, Farmhaus, St. Louis

Best Chef: New York City (five boroughs)
Marco Canora, Hearth
Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, Carbone
Anita Lo, Annisa
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
Jody Williams, Buvette

Best Chef: Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York State, Rhode Island and Vermont)
Karen Akunowicz, Myers Chang, Boston
Brian Hill, Francine, Camden, Maine
Zak Pelaccio, Fish & Game, Hudson, N.Y.
Susan Regis, Shepard, Cambridge, Mass.
Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor Eventide Oyster Co., Portland, Maine

Best Chef: Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming)
Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Ox, Portland, Ore.
Mike Easton, Il Corvo Pasta, Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland, Ore.
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Best Chef: South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi 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
Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans

Best Chef: Southeast (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia)
Kevin Gillespie, Gunshow, Atlanta
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, Ky.
Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta
Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis, Tenn.
Tandy Wilson and City House, Nashville, Tenn.

Best Chef: Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah)
Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin
Steve McHugh, Cured, San Antonio
Hugo Ortega, Caracol, Houston
Alex Seidel, Fruition, Denver
Justin Yu, Oxheart, Houston

Best Chef: West (California, Hawaii and Nevada)
Matthew Accarrino, SPQR, San Francisco
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Jeremy Fox, Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, Calif.
Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles
 

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
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