Restaurants & Bars
James Beard Awards: See How Georgia Fared
Here are Georgia's semifinalists for the coveted James Beard Foundation Awards — the so-called Oscars for restaurants.
ATLANTA, GA — Peach State food lovers rejoice — you've got some new restaurants to seek out. The semifinalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards — dubbed the Oscars for restaurants — have been released and chefs and restaurants from Georgia made the list.
The awards, across 21 national and regional categories, were released on Thursday. While Georgia's honorees hail largely from metro Atlanta, recipients range all the way from Marietta to Brunswick. The categories include best new restaurant, best chef, outstanding baker and outstanding service, among others.
Out of more than 20,000 entrants, nine from Georgia made the list. They are:
Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estatesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Outstanding Baker
Sarah O’Brien, Little Tart Bakeshop, Atlanta
Outstanding Bar Program
Kimball House, Decatur
Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estatesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Outstanding Chef
Hugh Acheson, Five & Ten, Athens, GA
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Parnass Savang, Talat Market, Atlanta
Brian So, Spring, Marietta
Best Chef: Southeast
Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah
Rui Liu, Masterpiece, Duluth
Matthew Raiford, The Farmer & The Larder, Brunswick
Ryan Smith, Staplehouse, Atlanta
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
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
