James Beard Award 2020 finalists: Here’s who made the cut

In a first-ever virtual ceremony, the James Beard Foundation on Monday narrowed its list of 2019 award semifinalists down to the finalists, with several Bay Area restaurants, chefs, winemakers and others left to claim the top awards.

The 2020 James Beard Award nominees were announced via Twitter on what would have been the 30th anniversary James Beard Awards. The restaurant winners will be announced from Chicago on Sept. 25. The media winners will be announced online May 27.

In a new category, Best Chef: California, four out of the five finalists are from San Francisco: Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s; Mourad Lahlou of Mourad; Joshua Skenes of Angler; and Val M. Cantu of Californios.

Avery Ruzicka of Los Gatos’ Manresa Bread is a finalist for Outstanding Baker, while Juan Contreras of San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn made the cut in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category.

Chef de cuisine Gabby Maeda of San Francisco’s State Bird Provisions is among the finalists for Rising Star Chef of the Year, an award that goes to someone age 30 or younger “who displays exceptional talent, character and leadership ability, and who is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.”

And for the second year in a row, Manresa’s David Kinch and Benu’s Cory Lee are both vying for Outstanding Chef.

Once again, Northern California dominates the category of Outstanding

Wine, Spirits or Beer Producer, with one Napa Valley winemaker — Cathy Corison of Corison Winery in St. Helena — and one distiller, Lance Winters of Alameda’s St. George Spirits, competing again.

And in another repeat appearance, San Francisco’s Quince is a finalist for Outstanding Restaurant, an award that goes to “a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere and service.” Restaurants must have been in operation for 10 or more consecutive years to be considered for this title. (It will be interesting to see how the James Beard Foundation tweaks that wording after this year of pandemic pivots and interruptions.)

San Francisco’s Verjus, the Euro-chic wine bar and bistro from Michael and Lindsay Tusk of Quince, is a final contender in the Best New Restaurant category.

Lastly, in perhaps the most poignant category for these pandemic times, San Francisco’s La Cocina executive director Caleb Zigas is in the running as one of five Leadership Honorees, a category that launched in 2010 to recognize visionaries for their work in creating a better food world.

Foundation leaders explained why they continued to go on with the awards during the pandemic: “To offer a glimmer of hope to an industry looking for light in a very dark time.”

It was clear that those whose work in 2019 led them to be selected as a semifinalist — and perhaps ultimately a nominee or a winner — deserved the recognition they earned, they said.

Find the full list of finalists at jamesbeard.org.