Is this the year for the Memphis chef duo?
Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman opened their first restaurant 10 years ago and since then have been semi-finalists for Best Chef: Southeast seven times.
When the finalists were announced Wednesday, Ticer and Hudman made the cut, making this the fourth time the Memphis duo is up for the honor in the James Beard Foundation Awards.
"Our fingers are certainly crossed," said director of operations for Enjoy AM Restaurant Group Nick Talarico. "Between Catherine and Mary's and The Gray Canary, we've worked really hard this year. I think what we're doing there, what we're doing across the restaurant group and this being our 10th anniversary, well, it would be a big party if we won."
Vishwesh Bhatt of Snackbar in Oxford has once again made the cut for Best Chef: South.
Ticer and Hudman opened Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen in 2008 and have followed with five more restaurants: Hog & Hominy and Porcellino's, both across the street from the first restaurant on Brookhaven Circle in East Memphis, Josephine Estelle in the Ace Hotel in New Orleans, Catherine & Mary's in the Chisca Hotel in Downtown Memphis and, most recently, The Gray Canary in Old Dominick Distillery Downtown.
At a Beard-studded dinner to benefit the Southern Foodways Alliance at The Gray Canary's grand opening last month, Ticer and Hudman cooked with guest chefs, including Cassidee Dabney of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. She's also a finalist for Best Chef: Southeast.
Winners will be announced at the James Beard Awards Gala in Chicago on May 7. For a full list, go to jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2018james-beard-award-nominees.