The 2024 James Beard Awards semifinalists were announced this morning, and 10 Philadelphia restaurants were among the nominees.
The list includes some familiar names:
- Dionicio Jiménez, a 2023 finalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, is up this year for Outstanding Chef for his work at Kensington’s Cantina La Martina,
- Previous Emerging Chef finalist Amanda Shulman returns to the list, this time with husband Alex Kemp for their Rittenhouse spot My Loup, which is up for Outstanding New Restaurant.
- Last year’s Outstanding Restaurateur Ellen Yin also returns, joined by wine and service director Frank Kinyon and general manager Harry Jamison, with an Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program nomination for Rittenhouse Square’s a.kitchen+bar.
Newcomers to the list include Puerto Rican restaurant Bolo’s chef and co-owner Yun Fuentes for Emerging Chef, as well as South Philly’s Isgro Pastries for Outstanding Bakery, the first nomination for the almost 120-year-old establishment.
Out of the 20 names listed for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, five are based in the Philadelphia area, three of them in South Philly: El Chingon’s Carlos Aparicio, Royal Sushi & Izakaya’s Jesse Ito, and River Twice’s Randy Rucker. Omar Tate, of West Philly’s Honeysuckle Provisions, and Dane DeMarco, of Haddonfield’s Gass & Main, are also listed.
Finalists will be announced April 3, with the awards ceremony taking place June 10 in Chicago.
Last year’s awards saw significant wins for Philadelphia, with Ellen Yin as Outstanding Restaurateur and Chad and Hanna Williams’s Rittenhouse spot Friday Saturday Sunday as Outstanding Restaurant. Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon secured a Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic title for her work at Kalaya, and mixologist and Hop Sing Laundromat resident bartender Toby Maloney won his second James Beard Award for his cocktail book, “The Bartender’s Manifesto: How to Think, Drink, and Create Cocktails Like A Pro,” coauthored by Emma Janzen.
On March 12, Taste America, the national culinary and tasting event organized by the James Beard Foundation, will return to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, featuring teams of chefs from across the country, including local semifinalists Cantina La Martina’s Jiménez, River Twice’s Rucker, and My Loup’s Shulman and Kemp. For more information on tickets ($200-$250), visit jamesbeard.org.
