Coqueta, Largey, Kinch, Leong Are James Beard Finalists

After the semifinalists were revealed last month, the list has now been narrowed down to produce the finalists for the James Beard Awards, the highest honor in the culinary community. As always, the Bay Area performed quite well overall, and several newbies are in contention for prizes at the big dance. One of last year's biggest hits, Coqueta, earned one of the five coveted slots for Best New Restaurant, while in just her first year, Belinda Leong of b. patisserie has become a contender for Best Pastry Chef (and is up against no less a personage than cronut inventor Dominique Ansel). And Manresa came out with guns blazing, thanks to the nomination of both executive chef David Kinch as Outstanding Chef and chef de cuisine Jessica Largey as Rising Star Chef, not to mention a nod for the Manresa: An Edible Reflection cookbook Kinch wrote with Christine Muhlke.

Some perennial bridesmaids, including Bar Agricole for Outstanding Bar Program, A16 for Outstanding Wine Program, and The Slanted Door for Outstanding Restaurant (open ten years or more) are also in the mix, as are Quince and The Restaurant at Meadowood for Outstanding Service and Cindy Pawlcyn (Mustards Grill, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen) for Outstanding Restaurateur. And in the Best Chef: West category, the Bay Area took three of the five slots, thanks to Corey Lee of Benu, Daniel Patterson of Coi, and most impressively, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions, who just won Best New Restaurant last year and are already in contention for a prize for which many chefs work years to build eligibility. Finally, Healdsburg's Shed got a design nomination.

The JBFAs also offer a number of food-writing awards, with the San Francisco Chronicle and local writers Michael Procopio and John Birdsall nominated in the journalism categories. As for cookbooks, Tartine Book No. 3 from Chad Robertson, One Good Dish by David Tanis, The New California Wine from Jon Bonné, the aforementioned Manresa book, and In the Charcuterie from Fatted Calf's Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller were all nominated in their respective categories. Oh, and Eater National snagged a nomination, too.

Here's the full list of nominees (locals in bold):

2014 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards

Cooking, Recipes, or Instruction
· Scott Mowbray and Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, "7 Simple Ways to Become a Better Cook"
· Andy Ricker, Saveur, "The Star of Siam"
· Various Editors, Bon Appétit, "How to Cook Right Now"

Food and Culture
· John Birdsall, Lucky Peach, "America, Your Food Is So Gay"
· Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, "Fire-Eaters"
· Corby Kummer, Smithsonian, "Can Starbucks Do for the Croissant What it Did for Coffee?"

Food and Travel
· Greg Larson, Lucky Peach, "Traveling in the North Country"
· Nick Paumgarten, Bon Appétit, "Lunch at 8,500 Ft."
· Gary Shteyngart, Travel + Leisure, "Maximum Bombay"

Food Coverage in a General-Interest Publication
· San Francisco Chronicle, "Food & Wine" Section, Various Editors
· The Wall Street Journal , "Off Duty" Section, Beth Kracklauer
· Washingtonian, "Taste" Section, Todd Kliman and Ann Limpert

Food Politics, Policy, and the Environment
· Maryn McKenna, Food & Environment Reporting Network and Medium, "Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future"
· Eli Saslow, The Washington Post, "Food Stamps"
· Craig Welch, The Seattle Times, "Sea Change: The Pacific's Perilous Turn"

Food-Related Columns
· Tamar Haspel, The Washington Post, Unearthed
· Kristen Miglore, Food52, Genius Recipes
· Adam Sachs, Bon Appétit, The Obsessivore

Group Food Blog
· The Braiser
· Eater National
· First We Feast

Health and Well-Being
· Elizabeth Gunnison Dunn, The Wall Street Journal, "This is Not a Carbonara"
· Sidney Fry, MS, RD, Cooking Light, "Salt"
· Rachael Moeller Gorman, EatingWell, "The Whole-Grain, Reduced-Fat, Zero-Calorie, High-Fiber, Lightly Sweetened Truth about Food Labels"

Humor
· Ira Chute, Dark Rye, A Vision of Post-Apocalyptic Cuisine: Frankenchicken
· Lisa Hanawalt, Lucky Peach, "On the Trail with Wylie"
· Monica Hesse, The Washington Post, "Gwyneth Paltrow: We Love to Hate Her, But We'll Buy Her Cookbook Anyway"

Individual Food Blog
· Food for the Thoughtless, Michael Procopio
· Homesick Texan, Lisa Fain
· Poor Man's Feast, Elissa Altman

Personal Essay
· Fuchsia Dunlop, Lucky Peach, "Dick Soup"
· Elizabeth Gilbert, Outside, "Don't Mess with Perfect"
· Gabrielle Hamilton, Bon Appétit, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"

Profile
· Alex Halberstadt, The New York Times Magazine, "The Transformational Power of the Right Spice"
· Francis Lam, Lucky Peach, "A Day on Long Island with Alex Lee"
· Peter Meehan, Lucky Peach, "Life, and How It Happens to a Cook"

Visual Storytelling
· Jeff Allen, Jonathan Boncek, Andrew Cebulka, Allston McCrady, and Susan Puckett, The Local Palate, "Dinin' Down in the Delta," "Ferm Belief," "Fire It Up,"
· Chris Higdon, Jessie Kriech-Higdon, and Jen White, Spenser Magazine, "Controlled Burn," "Lead Us Into Temptation," "The South's Sweet Elixir"
· James Maikowski, Patricia Sanchez, Stephen Scoble, and Fredika Stjärne, Food & Wine, "Best New Chef All Stars," "Oysters & Gumbo: A Chef's New Orleans Party," "Vegetables Now"

Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages
· Ray Isle, Food & Wine, "The Battle for America's Oldest Vines"
· Josh Ozersky, The Wall Street Journal, "Bourbon Mania!"
· Besha Rodell, Punch, "40 Ounces to Freedom"

Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award
· Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle: "Corkscrew BBQ a New Houston Classic," "The Cosmic Soup of Pho Hung," "The Pass Unleashes Plates of Playfulness"
· Alan Richman, GQ: "Alan Richman Walks Into a Jewish Deli...," "The Elm: Is Brooklyn Ready for Sophisticated Dining?," "ZZ's, the Most Expensive 58 Minutes in New York Dining"
· Besha Rodell, L.A. Weekly: "Black Hogg Down," "Outback Steakhouse Review: Please Don't Call This Food Australian," "Sqirl Review: Jessica Koslow's Tiny Restaurant Is Serving Some of the Best Food in L.A."

MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
· Francis Lam, Bon Appétit, "Better with Age"
· Guy Martin, Garden & Gun, "A Tale of Two Kitchens"
· John Jeremiah Sullivan, Lucky Peach, "I Placed a Jar in Tennessee"

2014 James Beard Foundation Book Awards

American Cooking
· I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara (Ten Speed Press)
· The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes, Amy Thielen (Random House)
· Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey: Recipes from My Three Favorite Food Groups and Then Some, John Currence (Andrews McMeel Publishing)

Baking and Dessert
· The Art of French Pastry, Jacquy Pfeiffer with Martha Rose Shulman (Knopf)
· Sweet, Valerie Gordon (Artisan)
· Tartine Book No. 3: Modern Ancient Classic Whole, Chad Robertson (Chronicle Books)

Beverage
· The Cocktail Lab: Unraveling the Mysteries of Flavor and Aroma in Drink, with Recipes, Tony Conigliaro (Ten Speed Press)
· The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks, Amy Stewart (Algonquin Books)
· The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution in Taste, Jon Bonné (Ten Speed Press)

Cooking from a Professional Point of View
· Historic Heston, Heston Blumenthal (Bloomsbury)
· Manresa: An Edible Reflection, David Kinch with Christine Muhlke (Ten Speed Press)
· René Redzepi: A Work in Progress, René Redzepi (Phaidon Press)

Focus on Health
· Gluten-Free Girl Every Day, Shauna James Ahern with Daniel Ahern (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
· VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good
Mark Bittman (Clarkson Potter Publishers)
· Weeknight Wonders: Delicious, Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less, Ellie Krieger (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

General Cooking
· One Good Dish, David Tanis (Artisan)
· Smoke: New Firewood Cooking, Tim Byres (Rizzoli New York)
· Try This at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate, Richard Blais (Clarkson Potter Publishers)

International
· Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking, Fuchsia Dunlop (W. W. Norton & Company)
· Return to the Rivers: Recipes and Memories of the Himalayan River Valleys, Vikas Khanna with Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn (Lake Isle Press)
· Sauces & Shapes: Pasta the Italian Way, Oretta Zanini DeVita and Maureen B. Fant (W. W. Norton & Company)

Photography
· Historic Heston, Photographer: Romas Foord (Bloomsbury USA)
· Mast Brothers Chocolate, Photographer: Tuukka Koski (Little, Brown and Company)
· René Redzepi: A Work in Progress, Ali Kurshat Altinsoy, Ditte Isager, René Redzepi, Lars Williams, and the Noma Team (Phaidon Press)

Reference and Scholarship
· A History of Food in 100 Recipes, William Sitwell (Little, Brown and Company)
· Modern Food, Moral Food: Self-Control, Science, and the Rise of Modern American Eating in the Early Twentieth Century, Helen Zoe Veit, (The University of North Carolina Press)
· Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine One Plate at a Time, Adrian Miller (The University of North Carolina Press)

Single Subject
· Culinary Birds: The Ultimate Poultry Cookbook, John Ash with James O. Fraioli (Running Press)
· Fish: 54 Seafood Feasts, Cree LeFavour (Chronicle Books)
· In the Charcuterie: The Fatted Calf's Guide to Making Sausage, Salumi, Pâtés, Roasts, Confits, and Other Meaty Goods, Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller (Ten Speed Press)

Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian
· Feast: Generous Vegetarian Meals for Any Eater and Every Appetite, Sarah Copeland (Chronicle Books)
· River Cottage Veg, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Ten Speed Press)
· Vegetable Literacy, Deborah Madison (Ten Speed Press)

Writing and Literature
· A Fork in the Road: Tales of Food, Pleasure and Discovery on the Road, Edited by James Oseland (Lonely Planet)
· Provence, 1970: M. F. K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste, Luke Barr (Clarkson Potter Publishers)
· Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, Michael Moss (Random House)

The winner of the Cookbook of the Year Award and the Cookbook Hall of Fame inductee will be announced on May 2, 2014.

2014 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards

75 Seats and Under
(For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since January 1, 2011)
Design Firm: Assimilation Design Lab LLC and Otto Architects LLC
Designers: Josh Otto and David Whipple
Project: Tria Taproom, Philadelphia

Design Firm: Huxley Wallace Collective
Designers: Joshua Henderson and Matthew Parker
Project: Westward, Seattle

Design Firm: Lawton Stanley Architects
Designers: Maria Contreras, Christopher Lawton, and Micah Stanley
Project: Grace, Chicago

76 Seats and Over
(For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since January 1, 2011)

Design Firm: Jensen ArchitectsDesigners: Scott Davis, Mark Jensen, Lincoln Lighthill, Dean Orr, and Andy Pluess Project: Shed, Healdsburg, CA
Design Firm: Munge LeungDesigner: Sai Leung and Alessandro Munge Project: Hawksworth Restaurant, Vancouver
Design Firm: Slade ArchitectureDesigners: Hayes Slade and James Slade Project: Virgin Atlantic Airway's Clubhouse at Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, NJ

2014 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
Dave Beran, Next, Chicago
Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago
Jonathon Sawyer, The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland
Paul Virant, Vie Restaurant, Western Springs, IL
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore
Brad Spence, Amis, Philadelphia
Vikram Sunderam, Rasika, Washington, D.C.
Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
Justin Aprahamian, SanfordMilwaukee
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Gerard Craft, Niche, Clayton, MO
Michelle Gayer, Salty Tart, Minneapolis
Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Café, St. Louis
Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, MN

Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig
Dan Kluger, ABC Kitchen
Mark Ladner, Del Posto
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
Michael White, Marea

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY STATE, RI, VT)
Jamie Bissonnette, Coppa, Boston
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Café, Boston
Gerry Hayden, The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY
Matt Jennings, Farmstead Inc., Providence, RI
Michael Leviton, Lumière, Newton, MA
Barry Maiden, Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA

Best Chef: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY)
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Jason Franey, Canlis, Seattle
Naomi Pomeroy, Beast, Portland, OR
Ethan Stowell, Staple & Fancy, Seattle
Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland, OR

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, MS
Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans
Ryan Prewitt, Pêche Seafood Grill, New Orleans
Alon Shaya, Domenica, New Orleans
Sue Zemanick, Gautreau's, New Orleans

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
Kathy Cary, Lilly's, Louisville, KY
Ashley Christensen, Poole's Downtown Diner, Raleigh, NC
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, KY
Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta
Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX, UT)
Kevin Binkley, Binkley's, Cave Creek, AZ
Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin
Hugo Ortega, Hugo's, Houston
Chris Shepherd, Underbelly, Houston
Justin Yu, Oxheart, Houston

Best Chef: West (CA, HI, NV)
Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
Daniel Patterson, Coi, San Francisco
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles

Best New Restaurant

Betony, NYC
Carbone, NYC
Coqueta, San Francisco
Estela, NYC
Pêche Seafood Grill, New Orleans

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional
Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Ron Cooper, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Ranchos de Taos, NM
Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
Harlen Wheatley, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY
David Wondrich, spirits educator, Brooklyn, NY

Outstanding Wine Program
A16, San Francisco
Bar Boulud, NYC
The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
FIG, Charleston, SC
The Little Nell, Aspen, CO

Outstanding Bar Program
Bar Agricole, San Francisco
The Bar at the NoMad Hotel, NYC
Clyde Common, Portland, OR
Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, NY
The Violet Hour, Chicago

Outstanding Service
Presented by Stella Artois®: A restaurant that demonstrates high standards of hospitality and service. Candidates must have been in operation for at least the past 5 years.
Blue Hill, NYC
Quince, San Francisco
The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
Topolobampo, Chicago
Vetri, Philadelphia

Outstanding Pastry Chef
A chef or baker who prepares desserts, pastries, or breads and who serves as a standard-bearer for excellence. Candidates must have been pastry chefs or bakers for at least the past 5 years.
Dominique Ansel, Dominique Ansel Bakery, NYC
Dana Cree, Blackbird, Chicago
Belinda Leong, b. patisserie, San Francisco
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Christina Tosi, Momofuku, NYC

Outstanding Restaurateur
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 10 years.
Barbara Lynch, Barbara Lynch Gruppo, Boston (No. 9 Park, Menton, B&G Oysters, and others)
Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group, Chicago (Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, and others)
Cindy Pawlcyn, Napa Valley, CA (Mustards Grill, Cindy's Back Street Kitchen)
Caroline Styne, Los Angeles (Lucques, A.O.C., Tavern, and others)
Phil Suarez, Suarez Restaurant Group, NYC (ABC Kitchen, Jean-Georges, wd~50, and others)

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water: A chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come.
Jimmy Bannos Jr., The Purple Pig, Chicago
Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC
Jessica Largey, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
David Posey, Blackbird, Chicago
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Lummi Island, WA

Outstanding Restaurant
Presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water: A restaurant in the United States that serves as a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere, and service. Candidates must have been in operation for at least 10 or more consecutive years.
Hearth, NYC
Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL
The Slanted Door, San Francisco
Spiaggia, Chicago
wd~50, NYC

Outstanding Chef
Presented by All-Clad Metalcrafters: A working chef in America whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals. Candidates must have been working as chefs for at least the past 5 years.
Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern, NYC
Sean Brock, McCrady's, Charleston, SC
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
David Kinch, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
Nancy Silverton, Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles
Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia

· Here Are the 2014 James Beard Awards Finalists [~ EN ~]
· Coqueta, Cavalier, Tosca, Trick Dog, b. patisserie, and More Make James Beard Semifinalist List [~ ESF ~]
· Bowien, State Bird, Kostow Win 2013 James Beard Awards [~ ESF ~]