It’s always an exciting time of year when the JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD finalists are announced. And way to go, San Francisco, because three of the six Best New Restaurant nominees are here!
Flour + Water San Francisco Chef/Partner: Thomas McNaughton Partners: David White and David Steele
Frances San Francisco Chef/Owner: Melissa Perello
RN74 San Francisco Chef: Jason Berthold Owners: Michael Mina and Rajat Parr
And then when we scoot to the Outstanding Chef nominees, two of the five nominees are local chefs: Gary Danko and Charles Phan. Boulevard is one of the five nominees for the Outstanding Restaurant Award; Pat Kuleto is a nominee for the Outstanding Restaurateur Award; Michael Mina for Outstanding Service; and Nicole Plue of Redd in Yountville is holding down one of the five nominee spaces for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Thrilled to see Shelley Lindgren of A16 and Jason Alexander of Gary Danko each get the nod for the Outstanding Wine Service Award. One of the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award nominees is Timothy Hollingsworth of The French Laundry. Three of the five nominees in the regional Best Chef category are the ex-chef of Ubuntu, Jeremy Fox; Michael Tusk at Quince; and David Kinch at Manresa.
Congratulations and good luck to all: you can read the entire list of nominees here. The winners will be announced in New York on May 3rd.
