NEW YORK, New York – The James Beard Foundation recently announced its list of Restaurant
and Chef Award semifinalists in advance of the 29th annual James Beard Awards. The prestigious group of semifinalists across all categories represents a wide collection of culinary talent, from exceptional chefs and dining destinations nationally and across ten different regions to the best new restaurants, outstanding bar, outstanding baker, and a rising star chefs 30 years of age or under. The full list of 2019 semifinalists can be reviewed at the end of the press release or directly at the James Beard Foundation website.
The Foundation will announce the final nominees for all Award categories during a press conference in Houston, hosted by James Beard Award–winning chef Hugo Ortega at his namesake Mexican restaurant, Hugo’s, on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. The event will take place at 9 a.m. CT / 10 a.m. ET and will be streamed live online (details coming soon on the Foundation’s website) and the nominees will be live-tweeted via the James Beard Foundation Twitter feed at twitter.com/beardfoundation.
Mississippi has semifinalists in the Outstanding Bar Program and Best Chef: South categories. Saint Leo in Oxford is a semifinalist under Outstanding Bar Program, and three chefs from our state are semifinalists for Best Chef: South, including Vishwesh Bhatt of Snackbar in Oxford, Alex Eaton of The Manship Wood Fired Kitchen in Jackson, and Alex Perry of Vestige in Ocean Springs.
Be sure to tune in to the live stream on March 27th to see if these Mississippians make it to the final list of nominees. Check out the full list of nominees here.