Since the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards began in 1991 it has developed into one of the most prized culinary acknowledgments around up there with the Michelin guide.
Championing and supporting U.S. culinary culture for over 30 years, the James Beard Foundation is now a renowned name for anybody in the business. In addition to their fundraising efforts and events, their coveted food industry awards are recognition of the highest order.
Below, we’ve listed everyone in DFW who was announced across several categories yesterday plus an appearance in the all-new Outstanding Bakery category.
Keep scrolling for this year’s semifinalists and head back in March to see the finalists and then in June to find out this year’s winners.
Outstanding Restaurant
The small 36-seat Italian restaurant Lucia in the Bishop Arts District was DFW’s nomination in the Outstanding Restaurant category.
With a frequently rotating menu, the award-winning restaurant owned by husband and wife team, David and Jennifer Uygur is no stranger to recognition. Having previously been singled out by the likes of Conde Nast Traveller and 10best.com the Dallas Morning News also recently named the restaurant’s Sweet Potato Casoncelli one of the best Dallas dishes of the year.
The only other Texas representative in this category was La Condesa in Austin.
Best New Restaurant
The Best New Restaurant Category featured three restaurants in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Restaurant Beatrice in Oak Cliff and Deep Ellum’s Tatsu sushi experience were the Dallas representatives.
The first offers “contemporary Cajun classics in a place that embodies the spirit of Louisiana hospitality” and the latter, one of the city’s hardest places to get a reservation, is a traditional 10-seat omakase room inside the historic Continental Gin Building.
Meanwhile, Fort Worth’s contemporary Mexican restaurant Don Artemio was also recognized in the Best New Restaurant category. An upscale Mexican restaurant channeling flavors Northeast Mexico, Dallas Morning News last year called it the place “everyone’s talking about in Fort Worth”.
Further afield the only other Texas recognition was for Tatemó in Houston,
Outstanding Bakery
Another Oak Cliff resident, Kuluntu Bakery was one of the first-ever honorees in the new Outstanding Bakery category.
The nonprofit cottage bakery was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 2018. After years of working for nonprofit organizations and high-end bakeries in New York City owners Stephanie & Warren spent time in Cape Town learning local recipes, harnessing local ingredients and teaching bread-making classes with several nonprofit organizations before setting up Kuluntu in Dallas in 2018.
Five years on the women-centered nonprofit bakery has been picking up deserved recognition and an array of accolades.
La Casita Bakeshop out in Richardson also made the cut as the only other representative in not only the Dallas area but the entire state.
Founded by Maricsa Trejo there is no shortage of devoted fans that are eager to get their hands on the artisanal bread, pastries, and croissants made at La Casita Bakeshop. Maricsa’s creations have become so popular in fact, that, despite only opening in the last few years and having had to continuously adapt, they are now sold to over 150 local restaurants and coffee shops.
Further afield Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panadería in Austin and Anne Ng of Bakery Lorraine in San Antonio were recognized in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.
Outstanding Chef
Forty-year-old Brazilian chef Junior Borges of Meridian was nominated in the Outstanding Chef category.
Raised in a small town north of Rio de Janeiro by the name of Mimoso do Sul, Junior Borges lived and worked in New York City for 13 years working in various establishments to hone his skills after graduating from the International Culinary Center.
Borges then moved to Dallas in 2014 as executive chef at Uchi before he had a stint as executive chef at the now-closed FT33 and then executive chef for the Joule Hotel’s multiple outlets.
He is now executive chef of Meridian and vice-president of culinary for The Village as well as an active member of the Culinary Council of Ment’or which helps support young culinary careers through educational grants and opportunities.
There were no Dallas Fort Worth residents in the Emerging Chef category but Victoria Elizondo of Cochinita & Co. in Houston and Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin of Best Quality Daughter in San Antonio were featured.
Other
There were no Dallas-Fort Worth nominations in the Outstanding Bar, Outstanding Hospitality, Outstanding Wine, and Other Beverages Program categories but the DFW area collectively received more nominations in the Best Chef: Texas category than any other area in Texas.
The nominations were for:
- Reyna Duong of Sandwich Hag, Dallas, TX
- Olivia López and Jonathan Percival of Molino Olōyō, Dallas, TX
- Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman of José, Dallas, TX
- Regino Rojas of Revolver Taco Lounge, Dallas, TX
- Jalen Heard, Lane Milne, and Jonny White of Goldee’s Barbecue, Fort Worth, TX
Austin and San Antonio received three a piece and Houston received four nominations.
You can see the full list of nominees on the James Beard Foundation website here.A list of finalists will be released on Wednesday, March 16th followed by a Monday, June 5th announcement for the award winners.
[Featured image courtesy of the James Beard Foundation]