14 hours ago
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- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area restaurants snubbed by James Beard Awards for third straight year
For the third year in a row, Bay Area restaurants and chefs will return empty-handed from the James Beard Foundation awards ceremony in Chicago, frequently likened to the 'Oscars of the food world.'
The James Beard Foundation released this year's long list of semifinalists in January, which featured a strong Bay Area restaurant presence, creating anticipation after the region fell short in 2023 and 2024. But the finalists, revealed in April, narrowed the playing field to a handful of nominees from San Francisco, shutting out the greater Bay Area region long before the final awards.
San Francisco chef-owners Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski whose hospitality company, Atomic Workshop, operates Anchovy Bar, State Bird Provisions, and the Progress, were finalists for the Outstanding Restaurateur award; New York City restaurateurs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, of Le Veau d'Or and Frenchette, were ultimately the winners in this category.
Richard Lee, the chef at two-Michelin-starred Saison, and Kosuke Tada of modern French restaurant Mijoté, both of San Francisco, were the Bay Area's finalists for the regional Best Chef: California award. Jon Yao, chef at Los Angeles restaurant Kato, won the award.
Jacob Brown of San Francisco's Lazy Bear made the final cut in the Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service category. But Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, Texas was ultimately bestowed the award.
In Northern California, though outside the Bay Area, Harbor House Inn of Elk (Mendocino County) was also a finalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category, but lost to Atomix of New York City.
In a silver lining, chef Rogelio Garcia, of Calistoga's Michelin-starred restaurant Auro, was recognized with a James Beard award in the Professional and Restaurant category for his cookbook 'Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California's Wine Country' during its Media Awards on Saturday night, recognizing the country's leading food media figures.
Disclosure: Some members of the San Francisco Chronicle's Food & Wine team are members of the James Beard Foundation awards committee, but are not involved in the Chronicle's coverage of the awards.
