James Beard Restaurant Awards: See How Florida Fared

MIAMI, FL — Foodies rejoice: you have some new restaurants and bars to seek out. The semifinalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards — dubbed the culinary Oscars — have been released and 10 entrants in Florida made the list.

The awards across 21 categories for national and regional chef and restaurant awards were released on Thursday. Categories include best new restaurant, best chef, outstanding baker and outstanding service, among others.

Out of more than 20,000 entrants, three Miami entrants made this list along with two from Miami Beach.

Here are all the winners in Florida:

Outstanding Baker:

Zak Stern, Zak the Baker, Miami

To be nominated for this category, the entrant must be a chef or baker who prepares breads, pastries, or desserts in a retail bakery and serve as a national standard-bearer of excellence. The individual must have been a baker or pastry chef for at least five years.

Outstanding Restauranteur:

Richard Gonzmart, Columbia Restaurant Group, Tampa (The Columbia, Goody Goody, and Ulele)

To be nominated for this category, a working restaurateur must set high national standards in restaurant operations and entrepreneurship. Candidates must have been in the restaurant business for at least 10 years and not have been nominated for a James Beard chef award in the past five years.

Outstanding Service

Palme d’Or, Coral Gables

To be nominated in for this category, a restaurant must have been in operation for at least five years and demonstrate high standards of hospitality and service.

Outstanding Wine Program

The Forge, Miami Beach

To be nominated for this category, a restaurant must have operated for at least five years and serve as a standard bearer for excellence in wine service through a well-presented wine list, knowledgeable staff, and efforts to educate customers about wine.

Rising Star Chef of the Year

Janine Booth, Stiltsville Fish Bar, Miami Beach

To be nominated for this category, a chef must be no more than 30 years old, display an impressive talent and be likely to make a significant impact on the industry in years to come.

Best Chef: South

• Lindsay Autry, The Regional Kitchen & Public House, West Palm Beach
• Clay Conley, Buccan, Palm Beach
• Brad Kilgore, Alter, Miami
• Lauren Macellaro, The Reading Room, St. Petersburg
• Niven Patel, Ghee Indian Kitchen, Miami

The foundation holds an online open call for entries every year. A committee reviews thousands of entries to come up with a nominating ballot of semifinalists in each category.

An independent volunteer panel of more than 600 judges — comprised of top regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators, and past winners — then votes on specific award categories to determine the final five nominees in each category.

They then vote on these five nominees to select the winners.

The foundation will announce the final nominees on the morning of March 14 at Parc in Philadelphia. The event will be live-streamed.

The winners will be announced at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City on April 27. They’ll receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. There are no cash prizes.

Click here to see the full list of awards.

Photo credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for #Culinary Kickoff