The James Beard Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards, and five chefs from Alabama have made the list. The awards are considered the Oscars of the food world, and winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Chicago on June 5.
Among those nominated were five Alabama chefs, including Timothy Hontzas of Johnny’s Restaurant in Homewood. This is Hontzas’ second year in a row being named a finalist for Best Chef in the South. Other chefs named finalists in this category include EJ Miller of Grace Meat + Three in Memphis, Alexander Smalls of The Cecil Restaurant in Harlem, Brandon McGlamery of Jardinière in San Francisco, and Michael Gallina of Vicia in St. Louis.
In addition to the chefs, Birmingham’s Bottega restaurant was nominated for Outstanding Hospitality. Owned by Frank and Pardis Stitt, Bottega was closed for renovations and reopened in December.
Previous James Beard winners from Alabama include Dolester Miles, Chris Hastings, The Bright Star, and Frank Stitt. However, once a restaurant or chef has won an award, they are not eligible to win again in the same category.
The complete list of finalists is available on the James Beard Foundation’s website. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Lyric Opera in Chicago on June 5.
Alabama’s representation among this year’s finalists is exciting news for the state’s culinary scene. The James Beard Foundation was established over 30 years ago to celebrate, support, and elevate America’s food culture. Their annual awards recognize excellence across more than 20 categories, including Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Restaurant, Best New Restaurant, Emerging Chef, Outstanding Bakery, Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, and Best Chefs.
Alabama’s culinary scene continues to gain recognition on a national scale. We congratulate all the Alabama chefs and restaurants who were named James Beard finalists and wish them luck in their respective categories.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
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