Check out the complete list of 2020 James Beard Awards finalists

The 2020 James Beard Awards Gala was scheduled to take place tonight in Chicago, where culinary greats would have gathered to celebrate the country's best restaurants, chefs, sommeliers, bartenders and food writers. Like everything else, the award show has been postponed (mark your calendar for September 25!), but that didn't stop the James Beard Foundation from celebrating the industry's top names today, as it whittled down the long list of semifinalists to a roster of final nominees.

"It was clear that those whose work in 2019 led them to be selected as a semifinalist—and perhaps ultimately a nominee or a winner—deserved the recognition they earned," wrote JBF chief strategy officer Mitchell Davis in a post explaining the change of events. "Those we consulted felt the Awards could also offer a glimmer of hope to an industry looking for light in a very dark time."

Without further ado, raise a glass to the complete list of 2020 James Beard Awards nominees.

Best New Restaurant 

• Automatic Seafood & Oysters, Birmingham, AL
• Demi, Minneapolis
• Eem, Portland, OR
• Fox & the Knife, Boston
• Gado Gado, Portland, OR
• Gianna, New Orleans
• Kalaya, Philadelphia
• Nightshade, Los Angeles
• Pasjoli, Santa Monica, CA
• Verjus, San Francisco

Outstanding Baker

• Graison Gill, Bellegarde Bakery, New Orleans
• Zachary Golper, Bien Cuit, NYC
• Lisa Ludwinski, Sister Pie, Detroit
• Avery Ruzicka, Manresa Bread, Los Gatos, CA

Outstanding Bar Program

• Anvil Bar & Refuge, Houston
• Expatriate, Portland, OR
• Kimball House, Decatur, GA
• Lost Lake, Chicago
• Trick Dog, San Francisco

Outstanding Chef

• David Kinch, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
• Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
• Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans
• Missy Robbins, Lilia, NYC
• Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
• Marc Vetri, Vetri Cucina, Philadelphia

Outstanding Hospitality

• Brigtsen's, New Orleans
• Canlis, Seattle
• Saison, San Francisco
• Swan Oyster Depot, San Francisco
• Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

Outstanding Pastry Chef

• Lincoln Carson, Bon Temps, Los Angeles
• Juan Contreras, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
• Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles
• Diane Moua, Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis
• Natasha Pickowicz, Flora Bar, NYC
• Miro Uskokovic, Gramercy Tavern, NYC

Outstanding Restaurant

• FIG, Charleston, SC
• Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
• Jaleo, Washington, D.C.
• Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
• Quince, San Francisco

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Paul Bartolotta, The Bartolotta Restaurants, Milwaukee (Ristorante Bartolotta, Harbor House, Lake Park Bistro, and others)
• Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer, JK Food Group, Boston (Little Donkey, Toro, Coppa)
• JoAnn Clevenger, Upperline Restaurant, New Orleans
• Alex Raij and Eder Montero, NYC (La Vara, Saint Julivert Fisherie, Txikito)
• Jason Wang, Xi'an Famous Foods, NYC

Outstanding Wine Program 

• Bacchanal, New Orleans
• Canard, Portland, OR
• COTE, NYC
• Miller Union, Atlanta
• Night + Market Sahm, Venice, CA
• Spiaggia, Chicago

Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer 

• Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall, High Wire Distilling Co., Charleston, SC
• Cathy Corison, Corison Winery, St. Helena, CA
• Drew Kulsveen, Willett Distillery, Bardstown, KY
• Todd Leopold and Scott Leopold, Leopold Bros., Denver
• Lance Winters, St. George Spirits, Alameda, CA

Rising Star Chef of the Year

• Will Aghajanian and Liz Johnson, The Catbird Seat, Nashville
• Irene Li, Mei Mei, Boston
• Gaby Maeda, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
• Ashleigh Shanti, Benne on Eagle, Asheville, NC
• Paola Velez, Kith/Kin, Washington, D.C.
• Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles

Best Chefs

Best Chef: California

• Jeremy Fox, Birdie G's, Santa Monica, CA
• Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu's, San Francisco
• Jessica Koslow, Sqirl, Los Angeles
• Mourad Lahlou, Mourad, San Francisco
• Joshua Skenes, Angler, San Francisco
• Pim Techamuanvivit, Kin Khao, San Francisco

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• Jason Hammel, Lula Cafe, Chicago
• Gene Kato, Momotaro, Chicago
• Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago
• John Shields and Karen Urie Shields, Smyth, Chicago
• Erick Williams, Virtue, Chicago
• Lee Wolen, Boka, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Washington, D.C.
• Nicholas Elmi, Laurel, Philadelphia
• Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
• Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia
• Jon Sybert, Tail Up Goat, Washington, D.C.
• Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

• Steven Brown, Tilia, Minneapolis
• Michael Corvino, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room, Kansas City, MO
• Michael Gallina, Vicia, St. Louis
• Jamie Malone, Grand Café, Minneapolis
• Christina Nguyen, Hai Hai, Minneapolis

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)

• Carrie Baird, Bar Dough, Denver
• Jen Castle and Blake Spalding, Hell's Backbone Grill & Farm, Boulder, UT
• Jeff Drew, Snake River Grill, Jackson, WY
• Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, CO
• Dana Rodriguez, Super Mega Bien, Denver
• Kelly Whitaker, The Wolf's Tailor, Denver

Best Chef: New York State

• Sean Gray, Momofuku Ko, NYC
• Brooks Headley, Superiority Burger, NYC
• Junghyun Park, Atomix, NYC
• Daniela Soto-Innes, ATLA, NYC
• Alex Stupak, Empellón, NYC

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

• Vien Dobui, CÔNG TỬ BỘT, Portland, ME
• Tiffani Faison, Orfano, Boston
• Ben Jackson, Drifters Wife, Portland, ME
• Krista Kern Desjarlais, The Purple House, North Yarmouth, ME
• Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley, Palace Diner, Biddeford, ME
• Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, MA

Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)

• Peter Cho, Han Oak, Portland, OR
• Gregory Gourdet, Departure, Portland, OR
• Chris Kajioka and Anthony Rush, Senia, Honolulu
• Katy Millard, Coquine, Portland, OR
• Kristen Murray, MÅURICE, Portland, OR
• Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, FL, LA, MS)

• Jose Enrique, Jose Enrique, San Juan, PR
• Kristen Essig and Michael Stoltzfus, Coquette, New Orleans
• Michael Gulotta, Maypop, New Orleans
• Mason Hereford, Turkey and the Wolf, New Orleans
• Isaac Toups, Toups' Meatery, New Orleans

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

• Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC
• Cassidee Dabney, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
• Cheetie Kumar, Garland, Raleigh, NC
• Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis
• Julia Sullivan, Henrietta Red, Nashville

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)

• Dan Krohmer, Other Mama, Las Vegas
• Jonathan Perno, Campo at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
• Chrysa Robertson, Rancho Pinot, Scottsdale, AZ
• Silvana Salcido Esparza, Barrio Café Gran Reserva, Phoenix
• Jeff Smedstad, Elote Cafe, Sedona, AZ
• James Trees, Esther's Kitchen, Las Vegas

Best Chef: Texas

• Kevin Fink, Emmer & Rye, Austin
• Michael Fojtasek, Olamaie, Austin
• Anita Jaisinghani, Pondicheri, Houston
• Steve McHugh, Cured, San Antonio
• Trong Nguyen, Crawfish & Noodles, Houston

2020 Leadership Award Honorees

• Phillip and Dorathy E. Barker, Co-Founders, Operation Spring Plant, Inc. (OSP)
• Rosalinda Guillen, Executive Director, Community to Community Development (C2C)
• Abiodun Henderson, Executive Director, The Come Up Project featuring Gangstas to Growers
• Mark and Kerry Marhefka, Owners, Abundant Seafood
• Caleb Zigas, Executive Director, La Cocina

America’s Classics Awards

• Lassis Inn, Little Rock, AR
• Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, Frankenmuth, MI
• Puritan Backroom, Manchester, NH
• Oriental Mart, Seattle
• El Taco de Mexico, Denver
• Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que, Brownsville, TX

Humanitarian of the Year: Jessica B. Harris

Leadership Awards

• Phillip and Dorathy E. Barker, Operations Spring Plant
• Rosalinda Guillen, Community to Community Development (C2C)
• Abiodun Henderson, The Come Up Project
• Mark and Kerry Marhefka of Abundant Seafood
• Caleb Zigas, La Cocina

Restaurant Design Awards

Design Icon: Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA

Outstanding Restaurant Design, 75 Seats and Under:

• SIMPLICITY for HALL by o.d.o
• Heliotrope Architects for Rupee
• Vermillion Architects, LLC for Spoonbill Watering Hole and Restaurant

Outstanding Restaurant Design, 76 Seats and Over:

• Hacin + Associates for Shore Leave;
• Ken Fulk, Inc for Swan & Bar Bevy
• Klein Agency and ORA for Auburn

2020 James Beard Foundation Book Awards

American

• Cook Like a Local: Flavors That Can Change How You Cook and See the World, Chris Shepherd and Kaitlyn Goalen
• Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, Toni Tipton-Martin
• South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations, Sean Brock

Baking and Desserts

• Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers, Nicole Rucker
• Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making, Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman
• Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Favorite Recipes, Joanne Chang

Beverage with Recipes

• Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time, Brad Thomas Parsons
• The Martini Cocktail: A Meditation on the World’s Greatest Drink, with Recipes, Robert Simonson
• The NoMad Cocktail Book, Leo Robitschek

Beverage without Recipes

• The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks: Sake, Shochu, Japanese Whisky, Beer, Wine, Cocktails and Other Beverages, Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting
• Red & White: An Unquenchable Thirst for Wine, Oz Clarke
• World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson

General

• All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice, Molly Stevens
• Milk Street: The New Rules: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook, Christopher Kimball
• Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook, Carla Lalli Music

Health and Special Diets

• The Beauty Chef Gut Guide: With 90+ Delicious Recipes and Weekly Meal Plans, Carla Oates
• Cannelle et Vanille: Nourishing, Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood, Aran Goyoaga
• Gluten-Free Baking at Home: 102 Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and More, Jeffrey Larsen

International

• Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes – Through Darkness and Light, Caroline Eden
• Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa, Yohanis Gebreyesus
• The Food of Sichuan, Fuchsia Dunlop

Photography

• American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta, Eric Wolfinger
• Le Corbuffet: Edible Art and Design Classics, Esther Choi
• Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, Quentin Bacon

Reference, History, and Scholarship

• Gandhi’s Search for the Perfect Diet: Eating with the World in Mind, Nico Slate
• A South You Never Ate: Savoring Flavors and Stories from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Bernard L. Herman
• The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration, Chris Smith 

Restaurant and Professional

• Dishoom: From Bombay with Love, Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar, and Naved Nasir
• Eleven Madison Park: The Next Chapter, Revised and Unlimited Edition, Daniel Humm
• The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think, Josh Niland

Single Subject

• From the Oven to the Table: Simple Dishes That Look After Themselves, Diana Henry
• Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks, Vicky Bennison
• Sour: The Magical Element That Will Transform Your Cooking, Mark Diacono

Vegetable-Focused Cooking 

• Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, Abra Berens
• Vegetables Illustrated: An Inspiring Guide with 700+ Kitchen-Tested Recipes, Editors at America's Test Kitchen
• Whole Food Cooking Every Day: Transform the Way You Eat with 250 Vegetarian Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar, Amy Chaplin

Writing

• Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer, Bren Smith
• Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir, Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein
• Women on Food: Charlotte Druckman and 115 Writers, Chefs, Critics, Television Stars, and Eaters, Charlotte Druckman

2020 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards

Audio Program

• The Food Programme – The Search for Esiah’s Seeds
• It Burns: The Scandal-Plagued Race to Breed the World’s Hottest Chili
• The Sporkful – When White People Say Plantation

Audio Reporting

• California Foodways – The Curious Second Life of a Prather Ranch Cow: Biomedical Research; Trans Man Finds – and Creates – Refuge in His Family’s Small-Town Cafe; Legalizing Cannabis Impacts Food, Farming in Humboldt; Reporter: Lisa Morehouse
• Food Actually – Junk Food Actually; Reporter: Tamar Adler
• Gravy – Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken; Reporter: Betsy Shepherd

Documentary

• Harvest Season, PBS
• Nothing Fancy: Diana Kennedy, premiered at SXSW in March 2019
• That’s My Jazz, Vimeo

Online Video, Fixed Location and/or Instructional

• Chef Studio: The Crumby Bits – Cricket Macarons, YouTube
• Grace Young – Wok Therapist, GraceYoung.com and YouTube
• Ready Jet Cook - How to Make Pad Thai with Jet Tila, FoodNetwork.com and YouTube

Online Video, on Location

• Eat, Drink, Share, Puerto Rico Food – El Burén de Lula, YouTube
• Handmade – How Knives Are Made for New York’s Best Restaurants; How a Ceramics Master Makes Plates for Michelin-Starred Restaurants, Eater and YouTube
• In Real Life – Why Eating This Fish Could Save Coral Reefs, YouTube and AJ+

Outstanding Personality/Host

• Alton Brown, Good Eats: The Return
• David Chang, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
• Roy Choi, Broken Bread with Roy Choi

Television Program, in Studio or Fixed Location

• Good Eats: The Return – American Classic: Chicken Parm
• Lidia’s Kitchen – Trattoria Favorites
• Pati’s Mexican Table – A Local’s Tour of Culiacán

Television Program, on Location

• Chef’s Table – Asma Khan
• Las Crónicas del Taco (Taco Chronicles) – Canasta
• Street Food – Bangkok, Thailand

Visual and Audio Technical Excellence

• Chef’s Table
• Street Food
• The Taste of Place – Wild Rice

Visual Reporting (on TV or Online)

• Fork the System – Moro Food of Muslim Mindanao: This is Filipino, Too; Reporters: Joi Lee and HyoJin Park
• In Real Life– Why This $300 Clam Is so Important to Native Americans and China; Reporters: AJ+ Staff
• Rotten – The Avocado War; Reporters: Christine Haughney, Erin Cauchi, and Gretchen Goetz

2020 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards

Columns

• What She’s Having: “Popeyes’ Fried Chicken Sandwich: A Delicious Distraction, a Cultural Lesson”; “Every Season Is Soup Season”; “Why a Somali Nook in East Boston Is One of the Country’s Best New Restaurants," Devra First, The Boston Globe
• Power Rankings: “The Official Fast Food French Fry Power Rankings”; “The Official Spicy Snack Power Rankings”; “The Official Domestic Beer Power Rankings," Lucas Kwan Peterson, Los Angeles Times
• Rooted in Place: “In Service”; “Hair, Food, and Hustle”; “The Best That We’ve Got," Rosalind Bentley, Gravy

Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award

• “Le Colonial Is an Orientalist Specter”; “The Ultimate Chaat Truck Crawl”; “The Fantasy — and Reality — of Dining at Chez Panisse," Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle
• “NYC’s Buzziest New Sushi Parlors Are Transcendent, If You Can Handle the Bros”; “Wall Street’s Underground Russian Spa Is a Dining Destination for the Soul”; “Estiatorio Milos Is One of the Last Big Restaurant Scams in New York," Ryan Sutton, Eater New York
• “Peter Luger Used to Sizzle. Now It Sputters.”; “The 20 Most Delicious Things at Mercado Little Spain”; “Benno, Proudly Out of Step With the Age," Pete Wells, The New York Times

Dining and Travel

• “In Pursuit of the Perfect Pizza," Matt Goulding, Airbnb Magazine
• “Interview With the Vampiro," Dylan James Ho, Taste
• “These Are the World’s Best Restaurants: North America, South America, Africa and Middle East," Besha Rodell, Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine

Feature Reporting

• America’s farmers in crisis during Trump’s trade wars: “Left Behind: Farmers Fight to Save Their Land in Rural Minnesota as Trade War Intensifies”; “’I’m Gonna Lose Everything’: A Farm Family Struggles to Recover after Rising Debt Pushes a Husband to Suicide”; “In Trump Country, a Season of Need on Family Farms” (Annie Gowen, The Washington Post)
• “The Great Land Robbery” (Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic)
• “Value Meal” (Tad Friend, The New Yorker)

Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication

• The Bitter Southerner
• Gastro Obscura
• The New Yorker

Foodways

• “An Indigenous Community in Mexico Finds Its Voice — and Strength — in Wild Mushrooms” (Michael Snyder, Los Angeles Times)
• “On Hawaii, the Fight for Taro’s Revival” (Ligaya Mishan, T: The New York Times Style Magazine)
• “A Real Hot Mess: How Grits Got Weaponized Against Cheating Men” (Cynthia R. Greenlee, MUNCHIES | Food by VICE)

Health and Wellness

• “The AGEs Puzzle: How We Cook Food Is Killing Us. Scientists in SC Know Why.”; “9 Easy Ways to Eat Fewer AGEs: A Stress-Free Guide” (Tony Bartelme, The Post and Courier)
• “How Washington Keeps America Sick and Fat”; “Meet the Silicon Valley Investor Who Wants Washington to Figure Out What You Should Eat” (Catherine Boudreau and Helena Bottemiller Evich, Politico)
• “Protein Nation” (Shaun Dreisbach, EatingWell)

Home Cooking

• “6 Holiday Cookies That Will Win You the Cookie Swap” (Hilary Cadigan and Rick Martinez, Bon Appétit)
• “Fry Time” (Nancy Singleton Hachisu, Saveur)
• “In Praise of Schmaltz” (Rachel Handler, Grub Street)

Innovative Storytelling

• “Best New Restaurants 2019” (Kevin Alexander, Nicole A. Taylor, and Adriana Velez, Thrillist)
• “Food and Loathing on the Campaign Trail” (Gary He, Matt Buchanan, and Meghan McCarron, Eater)
• “Made in America” (Tim Carman and Shelly Tan, The Washington Post)

Investigative Reporting

• “How USDA Distorted Data to Conceal Decades of Discrimination Against Black Farmers” (Nathan Rosenberg and Bryce Wilson Stucki, The Counter)
• “‘The Man Who Attacked Me Works in Your Kitchen’: Victim of Serial Groper Took Justice into Her Own Hands” (Amy Brittain and Maura Judkis, The Washington Post)
• “The Young Hands That Feed Us” (Karen Coates and Valeria Fernández, Pacific Standard)

Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award

• “Forget Democratic Votes. Which Presidential Hopeful Will Eat 16 Iconic SC Foods First?”; “A James Island Meat-and-Two Secretly Switched to Carolina Gold Rice. Here’s What Happened.”; “In Prisons Across South Carolina, It’s Not a Birthday Without Cake Made by a Fellow Inmate” (Hanna Raskin, The Post and Courier)
• “In Search of Hot Beef”; “Chef Jack Riebel Is in the Fight of His Life”; “Harry Singh on the Perfect Roti, Trinidad, and Life in the Kitchen” (Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine)
• “In a Wheelchair and Hungry”; “Where to Eat Regionally Inspired Mexican Food in New York City”; “How Sichuan Became NYC’s Dominant Chinese Cuisine” (Robert Sietsema, Eater New York)

M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award

• “A Mind to Stay Here” (Rosalind Bentley, Gravy)
• “My Mother’s Catfish Stew” (John T. Edge, Oxford American)
• “An Undeserved Gift” (Shane Mitchell, The Bitter Southerner)

Personal Essay, Long Form

• “The Dysfunction of Food” (Kim Foster, Kim-Foster.com)
• “Love, Peace, and Taco Grease: How I Left My Abusive Husband and Found Guy Fieri” (Rax King, Catapult)
• “Seeking Jewish Identity at the Sabra Hummus Factory” (Orr Shtuhl, The Forward)

Personal Essay, Short Form

• “For 20 Years, happy hour has seen us through work — and life” (M. Carrie Allan, The Washington Post)
• “How the Starbucks Macchiato Ruined My Indie Coffee Shop Experiences” (Nicole A. Taylor, Thrillist)
• “In Memoriam of Hominy Grill, the Restaurant That Defined Charleston” (Ali Rosen, Plate)

Profile

• “First Course” (Zoe Tennant, Granta)
• “The Fruit Saver” (Tejal Rao, Women on Food)
• “The Provocations of Chef Tunde Wey” (Brett Martin, GQ Magazine)

Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages

• “How Climate Change Impacts Wine” (Eric Asimov, The New York Times)
• “May I Help You With That Wine List?” (Ray Isle, Food & Wine)
• “Seltzer Is Over. Mineral Water Is Forever.” (Jordan Michelman, PUNCH)

Most popular on Time Out