Despite landing three semifinalists — chefs Ferrell Alvarez, Chris Ponte and restaurateur Richard Gonzmart — Tampa Bay, and the rest of the state, unfortunately didn't walk away with any nominations for the 2017 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards.
The award nominees for Best Chef: South, announced Wednesday, went to chefs in Mississippi, San Juan and New Orleans, while nominees in the Outstanding Restaurateur category hail from Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia and LA.
This year, a local newspaper is Florida's sole James Beard nom. The Foundation recognized Tampa Bay Times food critic Laura Reiley for her "Farm to Fable" series in the James Beard Media Awards's Food Reporting category. Reiley's series began in April 2016, and a couple follow-up stories to the investigation's initial Parts 1 through 3 have been published since.
Winners of the Media Awards, which celebrate the nation's best cookbook authors, culinary broadcast producers and hosts, and food journalists, will be announced on April 25 at New York City's Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers.
There is at least one other local connection among the 2017 James Beard crop. Best Chef: South nominee Slade Rushing, executive chef of Brennan's in New Orleans, is married to Allison Vines-Rushing, a James Beard-winning chef herself and the daughter of St. Pete insurance broker and arts benefactor Sylvia Rusche. Vines-Rushing served as guest chef at Stillwaters Tavern last year for a St. Petersburg Free Clinic fundraiser.
This article appears in Mar 9-16, 2017.