FOOD NEWS: James Beard Award Semifinalists

Photo Credit: James Beard Foundation

Last month the James Beard Foundation announced the 2014 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists. As always, Washington state has a good representation of outstanding chefs and restaurants. Here is a list of the Washington state Semifinalists. The finalists will be announced on March 18th. The winners will be announced on May 2nd and 5th in New York City.

Best New Restaurant
Aragona - Downtown Seattle
Bar Sajor - Pioneer Square, Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program
Canon - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Chef
 John Sundstrom, Lark - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Neil Robertson, Crumble & Flake - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Restaurant
Canils - Queen Anne, Seattle

Outstanding Restaurateur
Rick and Ann Yoder, Wild Ginger - Downtown Seattle and Bellevue

Outstanding Service
Cafe Juanita - Kirkland, WA

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Chris Weber, The Herbfarm - Woodinville, WA
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island - Lummi Island, WA

Best Chef: Northwest
Chris Ainsworth, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Walla Walla, WA
Eric Donnelly, RockCreek - Fremont, Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins - Wallingford, Seattle
Jason Franey, Canlis - Queen Anne
Nathan Lockwood, Altura - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Brendan McGill, Hitchcock - Bainbridge Island, WA
Dustin Ronspies, Art of the Table - Wallingford, Seattle
Ethan Stowell, Staple and Fancy - Ballard, Seattle
Jason Stratton, Spinasse - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule - Wallingford, Seattle

Congratulations to all the Semifinalists and good luck!