After a two-year hiatus, the James Beard Awards (aka the food world’s equivalent to the Oscars), will return to Chicago’s Lyric Opera House on June 13th. It wasn’t just the pandemic that caused the high-profile awards to take a pause. There were a veritable feast of factors pertaining to diversity and inclusion—for instance, there were no Black chefs included in the last slate of winners. An internal audit led to a rethinking of how the awards are conducted, and who gets to judge them.
As in years past, the Beard organization released a longlist of contenders, which will be whittled down to the official nominees in March. And there are some Nashville players – culinary favorites that are in the running for several major national awards. Congratulations to the nominees!
Outstanding Bar Program
Best Chefs (Presented by Capital One): Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
- Jake Howell, Peninsula
- Philip Krajeck, Rolf and Daughters
- Mailea Weger, Lou
