Sunday, March 30, 2008

Another Strong Bay Area Showing

This past week, James Beard Foundation announced their nominees for the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards. Like last year, the Bay Area food community is well-represented. Boulevard and The Slanted Door, two perennial San Francisco favorites, are up for the Outstanding Restaurant Award. While not a clean sweep like last year, four of the five nominees in the Best Chef in the Pacific Region (California and Hawaii) are from the Bay Area: Douglas Keane of Cyrus, Craig Stoll of Delfina, and Michael Tusk of Quince are repeat nominees from last year, with David Kinch of Manresa joining them on the list of nominees.

Nate Appleman of A16 and SPQR is a repeat nominee in the Rising Star Chef of the year. Nicole Plue of Yountville's Redd and Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery were nominated for Best Pastry Chef of the Year.

Other Bay Area nominees include Terra for the Outstanding Service Award and Merry Edwards of her eponymous winery for the Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Award. Bobby Stuckey, formerly of The French Laundry and now co-owner of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado, is another nominee in the latter category.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8, 2008.

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