Feb. 17--The James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for the 2016 James Beard Awards -- think the Oscars of the food world -- Wednesday morning, chosen from a list of more than 20,000 online entries.
The number of semifinalists from Chicago is robust, including a contender for a newer category (introduced in 2015), Outstanding Baker.
See who made it below. Finalists will be announced March 15 and the awards gala will be May 2 -- in Chicago for the second year in a row.
Best New Restaurant
The Blanchard
Intro
Outstanding Baker
Dave and Megan Miller (Baker Miller)
Outstanding Bar Program
Lost Lake
Outstanding Chef
Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia)
Carrie Nahabedian (Naha)
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Meg Galus (Boka)
Outstanding Restaurant
Alinea
Outsanding Restaurateur
Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz (Boka Group)
Outstanding Service
North Pond
Topolobampo
Outstanding Wine Program
Sepia
Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional
Charles Joly (Crafthouse)
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Tanya Baker (Boarding House)
Edward Sura (Perennial Virant)
Jenner Tomaska (Next)
Best Chef (Great Lakes)
Jake Bickelhaupt (42 Grams)
Abraham Conlon (Fat Rice)
Curtis Duffy (Grace)
Paul Fehribach (Big Jones)
Phillip Foss (EL Ideas)
Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark (Parachute)
Ryan McCaskey (Acadia)
Iliana Regan (Elizabeth)
Lee Wolen (Boka)
Erling Wu-Bower (Nico Osteria)
Andrew Zimmerman (Sepia)
For the complete list of semifinalists, visit www.jamesbeard.org/awards
mconrad@tribpub.com
Twitter @marissa_conrad
