Several New England restaurants and chefs are among the semifinalists for 2024 James Beard award nominations, considered by many the top U.S. honors in the food industry.
Four different semifinalists for this year's national awards come from Portland, Maine, one more than than the Boston area managed. Rhode Island also had several nods for the awards, with the next step -- nominations -- coming in April.
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Up for outstanding restaurant are Bywater, from Warren, Rhode Island, and Coracora, from West Hartford, Connecticut. Renee Touponce, of The Port of Call in Mystic, Connecticut, are semifinalists for outstanding chef.
Vying for best restaurateur are Chris Viaud, who runs Greenleaf, Ansanm and Pavilion in Milford, New Hampshire, and the mother-daughter team of Cara and Cecile Stadler of Portland who run BaoBao Dumpling House, Tao Yuan Restaurant and ZaoZe Cafe & Market.
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A Dorchester restaurant, Comfort Kitchen, is one of three New England spots tapped for best new restaurant, along with The Alna Store of Alna, Maine, and Tuxpan Taqueria, of Central Falls, Rhode Island. One local bakery could be named the nation's outstanding one: ZU Bakery in Portland.
Two New England chefs are in the running for emerging chef: Sky Haneul Kim, of Providence's Gift Horse, and Joe Robbins, of Bissell Brothers Three Rivers Kitchen in Milo, Maine. There are also two local semifinalists in the outstanding pastry chef or baker category: Atsuko Fujimoto, of Norimoto Bakery in Portland, and Kristina Zontini, of Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.
The Boston area is better represented in the outstanding wine and beverages program category, with haley.henry wine bar, in Downtown Crossing, and Somerville's Rebel Rebel getting the nods. Outstanding bar semifinalists include Barr Hill Cocktail Bar, in Montpelier, Vermont, and Providence's Courtland Club.
Two local restaurants got nods for outstanding hospitality: Giusto in Newport, Rhode Island, and Woodford Food & Beverage in Portland.
Finally, here are the semifinalists for best chef in New England:
• Celia Bruns, Artemisia Cafe, Portland, ME
• Peter Carvelli, Foglia, Bristol, RI
• Tracy Chang, Pagu, Cambridge, MA
• Cara Chigazola Tobin, Honey Road, Burlington, VT
• John daSilva, Chickadee, Boston, MA
• Conor Dennehy, Tallula, Cambridge, MA
• Subat Dilmurat, Jahunger, Providence, RI
• Ian Driscoll, Bar Futo, Portland, ME
• Patricia Estorino, Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Bar, Cambridge, MA
• Lee Frank, Otis Restaurant, Exeter, NH
• Valerie Goldman, The Honey Paw, Portland, ME
• Cecelia Lizotte, Suya Joint, Boston, MA
• Laurence Louie, Rubato, Quincy, MA
• Maria Meza, Dolores, Providence, RI
• Rachel Miller, Nightshade Noodle Bar, Lynn, MA
• David Standridge, The Shipwright's Daughter, Mystic, CT
• Jake Stevens, Leeward, Portland, ME
• Micah Tavelli, Paradiso Hi-Fi, Burlington, VT
• Andy Teixeira, Newport Vineyards, Middletown, RI
• Basil Yu, Yagi Noodles, Newport, RI
