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A who’s who of Bay Area chefs, restaurants, bakers, brewers and bars were named semi-finalists for 2019 James Beard Foundation awards on Wednesday, with Oakland’s Nyum Bai and San Francisco’s Angler nabbing best new restaurant nominations, and nine Bay Area restaurant chefs up for “Best Chef: West.”
This year’s list features a good representation of female Bay Area chefs — and Oakland restaurants are well represented with three of those Best Chef: West nominations.
Angler’s Joshua Skenes also received a “Best Chef: West” nod for his three-Michelin-starred sister restaurant, Saison. The news comes days after Skenes announced he is turning over Saison’s day-to-day operations to chef Laurent Gras in order to focus on his exclusive Skenes Ranch project.
The other semi-finalists for Best Chef: West, a category that includes California, Hawaii and Nevada, feature some fresh names, including Reem Asil of Reem’s California in Oakland; Gabriela Cámara of Cala in San Francisco; Matthew Kammerer of Harbor House Inn in Elk; Dominica Rice-Cisneros of Cosecha Café in Oakland; Karen Taylor of El Molino Central in Sonoma; and Pim Techamuanvivit of Kin Khao in San Francisco. Brandon Rodgers and Ian Scaramuzza, from San Francisco’s In Situ, and James Syhabout, from Oakland’s Commis, were also nominated in this category.
Alexander Hong of San Francisco’s Sorrel represents the Bay Area in the “rising star chef” category. Greg Mindel of Neighbor Bakehouse in San Francisco and Avery Ruzicka of Manresa Bread in Los Gatos both received nods for best baker. And in the outstanding bar program category, San Francisco’s Bar Agricole, which was a finalist in 2018, received a nomination.
Juan Contreras of Atelier Crenn and Michelle Polzine from 20th Century Café, both in San Francisco, received nominations for outstanding pastry chef.
Perhaps the most exciting Bay Area nomination was for outstanding wine, spirits and beer producer, a category typically dominated by super premium Napa winemakers — and the oft-nominated, award-winning Lance Winters from Alameda’s St. George Spirits. This year, Yoshihiro Sako of Den Sake Brewery, which is located in an industrial eco-park in West Oakland, is up for the honor along with Winters.
The rest of the semifinals includes all the usual talented — and frequently nominated —suspects, from David Kinch of Manresa and Christopher Kostow of The Restaurant at Meadowood to Corey Lee of Benu.
The finalists will be announced on March 27 in Houston. The winners will be announced at the James Beard awards gala on May 6 in Chicago. Find the full list of nominees at www.jamesbeard.org/awards.