Appalachian chefs, restaurants compete for James Beard Awards

Appalachian chefs and restaurateurs are well represented among the list of James Beard Award semifinalists announced yesterday. Fifteen different Appalachian region chefs and restaurateurs made the cut.

The James Beard Awards are the highest honor for food and beverage professionals working in the United States.  Eight Appalachian chefs and restaurants became semifinalists in 7 of the 11 national categories. Seven more made the cut for Best Chef in their respective geographic regions.

Below are the semifinalists for James Beard 2015 Restaurant and Chef Awards who hail from the Appalachian region.

JAMES BEARD AWARDS 2015
Restaurant & Chef Award Semifinalists

Outstanding Bar Program
Butcher and the Rye, Pittsburgh

Outstanding Restaurateur
Tom Baron and Bill Fuller, Big Burrito Restaurant Group, Pittsburgh
(Casbah, Eleven, Kaya, and others)
Nick Pihakis, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Birmingham, AL

Outstanding Service
The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional
Diane Flynt, Foggy Ridge Cider, Dugspur, VA
Foggy Ridge Cider video

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL

Outstanding Restaurant
Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL

Rising Star of the Year
Jamilka Borges, Bar Marco, Pittsburgh

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Justin Severino, Cure, Pittsburgh

Best Chef: Southeast
Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC
John Fleer, Rhubarb, Asheville, NC
Damian Heath, Lot 12 Public House, Berkeley Springs, WV
Meherwan Irani, Chai Pani, Asheville, NC
Daniel Lindley, Alleia, Chattanooga, TN

Best Chef: South
Chris Newsome, Ollie Irene, Birmingham, AL

Twenty semifinalists were named in each of the regional Best Chef categories, and 20 to 25 semifinalists were selected in each of the national categories. The Appalachian region made its best showing in the Best Chef Southeast category where it gained 5 of the 20 semifinalists.

Final winners announced in spring

The finalist Restaurant and Chef Award nominees will be announced at the James Beard House in New York City on March 24. Top chefs and restaurants will be honored at the 2015 James Beard Awards gala being held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on May 4.

The Restaurant and Chef Awards were established  in 1990 by the James Beard Foundation, located in New York City.  It’s a historic year for the James Beard Awards: it is celebrating the program’s 25th anniversary, and, for the first time, the Awards gala will be held in Chicago.

For more, see the James Beard Awards website.