The finalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards were just announced via Twitter this morning. Philly restaurateurs, chefs and industry pros were semi-finalists in multiple categories, but not everyone made it the finals. Locals were eliminated from the Outstanding Wine Professional and Outstanding Wine Service categories as well as Rising Star Chefs, Outstanding Restaurant, Outstanding Pastry Chef, Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurant, but showed in the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, Best New Restaurant, and Outstanding Restaurateur categories. Click through to see who made the cut from Philly and will proceed to the Awards ceremony in May. Check in to Grub Street NY for full coverage of the nominees in all the categories.
JAMES BEARD AWARD FINALISTS FROM PHILLY
BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC
Jeff Michaud, Osteria, Philadelphia
Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia
BEST NEW RESTAURANT
Bibou, Philadelphia
OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurant Organization, Philadelphia
OUTSTANDING SERVICE
Vetri, Philadelphia, Chefs/Owners: Marc Vetri, Jeff Benjamin
To view the full list of nominated semi-finalists, check out our previous post.