Nominees Announced for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Awards

The James Beard Foundation has announced the nominees for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Awards. Nominees were announced in nearly 60 categories of the Foundation's various awards programs, including Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design, Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America, and Media. A complete list of nominees can be found at jamesbeard.org/awards.

Winners of the 2018 James Beard Media Awards will be announced at an exclusive event honoring the nation's top cookbook authors, culinary broadcast producers and hosts, and food journalists at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City on Friday, April 27.

Winners of the remaining awards will be announced at the James Beard Awards Gala at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, May 7. During the event, which is open to the public, awards for the Restaurant and Chef and Restaurant Design categories will be handed out, along with special achievement awards Humanitarian of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Design Icon, Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America, and America’s Classics. A gala reception will immediately follow, featuring top chefs and beverage professionals from across the country.

Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and furthers the Foundation’s mission to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America's food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone.

Read on for Los Angeles nominees of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Awards.

A restaurant opened in the calendar year before the award will be given that already displays excellence in food, beverage, and service, and that is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.

• The Charter Oak, St. Helena, CA
• Empellón Midtown, NYC
• Felix Trattoria, Venice, CA
• JuneBaby, Seattle
• Kismet, Los Angeles

A chef or baker who prepares desserts, pastries, or breads in a restaurant, and who serves as a national standard bearer of excellence. Must have been a pastry chef or baker for the past five years.

• Kelly Fields, Willa Jean, New Orleans
• Meg Galus, Boka, Chicago
• Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles
• Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL
• Diane Yang, Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis

A working restaurateur who sets high national standards in restaurant operations and entrepreneurship. Candidates must have been in the restaurant business for at least 10 years. Candidates must not have been nominated for a James Beard Foundation chef award in the past five years.

• Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago (Boka, GT Fish & Oyster, Girl & the Goat, and others)
• JoAnn Clevenger, Upperline, New Orleans Ken Oringer, Boston (Uni, Little Donkey, Toro, and others)
• Caroline Styne, The Lucques Group, Los Angeles (Lucques, a.o.c., Tavern, and others)
• Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group, Philadelphia (Fork, High Street on Market, High Street on Hudson, and others)

A restaurant in operation five or more years that serves as a standard bearer for excellence in wine service through a well-presented wine list, knowledgeable staff, and efforts to educate customers about wine.

• a.o.c., Los Angeles
• Bacchanal, New Orleans
• Benu, San Francisco
• FIG, Charleston, SC
• The Little Nell, Aspen, CO

• Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
• Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
• Jeremy Fox, Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, CA
• Jessica Koslow, Sqirl, Los Angeles
• Travis Lett, Gjelina, Venice, CA

Bill Addison - Eater
“The Radical Sandwich Kings of New Orleans”; “America’s Next Great Southern Restaurant Is in the Pacific Northwest”; “At Santa Monica’s Dialogue, Seasonality Meets Surrealism”

Jonathan Gold - Los Angeles Times
Counter Intelligence: “The World’s Best Restaurant Opens a Pop-Up in Mexico”; “At Vespertine, Jonathan Gold Makes Contact with Otherworldly Cooking”; “Jonathan Gold Finds Delight in the Secretive Santa Monica Restaurant Dialogue”

Hanna Raskin - The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
“Bar Normandy”; “Pawpaw”; and “Rappahannock Oyster Bar”

José Andrés - The Bazaar, Tres at SLS Beverly Hills
Multiple James Beard Award–Winning Chef; Owner, ThinkFoodGroup; Founder, World Central Kitchen