7 Pittsburgh restaurants chosen as James Beard semifinalists
Jamilka Borges, who oversees kitchens at The Independent Brewing Co., Hidden Harbor and Lorelei, and Bar Marco are among seven Pittsburgh restaurants or restaurateurs named as semifinalists for the prestigious James Beard Awards.
The winners in each category will be announced May 6 at the James Beard Gala in Chicago. Here are the semifinalists from the Pittsburgh region:
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic: Jamilka Borges, The Independent Brewing Co.; Kristin Butterworth, Lautrec at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort; Wei Zhu, Chengdu Gourmet.
Outstanding Restaurateur: Richard DeShantz and Tolga Sevdik, Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group (Poulet Bleu, Fish nor Fowl, Butcher and the Rye, Tako, and Meat and Potatoes).
Outstanding Wine Program: Bar Marco.
Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Producer: Meredith Meyer Grelli, Wigle Whiskey.
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Becca Hegarty, Bitter Ends Luncheonette.
To address race and gender imbalances in the industry, the James Beard Foundation updated its rules in October and made internal changes to diversify the selection of nominees. The foundation wanted nominees to better reflect the population of the U.S. and, certainly, the restaurant industry.
“The idea is to make sure it’s more indicative of who is working in the industry and that people are doing what they should be doing,” Anne Quatrano, the Atlanta chef who oversees the awards, told The New York Times.
Last year, in response to #MeToo in particular, the foundation asked the judges — more than 300 previous James Beard winners, 250 panelists and the 18 restaurant and chef awards committee members — to consider the culture of restaurants and chefs’ behavior in selecting nominees.
Earning a James Beard award is among the highest accolades in the restaurant industry, with a committee of regional and national judges weighing in on nominees. The judges’ and committee members’ votes will whittle the semifinalist list to five finalists per category, to be announced March 27. All votes count equally and are tabulated by the independent accounting firm Lutz and Carr. The five semifinalists with the highest number of votes will become the nominees.
The national list of nominees can be found on the James Beard website.