The finalists were announced today for the 2019 29th annual James Beard Awards. Since many of you visit Seattle restaurants I have included them also.

Best New Restaurant

• Canard, Portland
• Sawyer, Seattle

Outstanding Baker

• Kim Boyce of Bakeshop

Outstanding Bar Program

• Expatriate, Portland
• No Anchor, Seattle

Outstanding Chef

• Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon, Portland
• Renee Erickson, Bateau, Seattle
• Shiro Kashiba, Sushi Kashiba, Seattle

Outstanding Pastry Chef

• Junko Mine, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, Washington

Oustanding Restaurant

• Marché, Eugene, Oregon

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Akkapong (Earl) Ninsom of PaaDee (Langbaan, Hat Yai, and others), Portland

Outstanding Service

• Canlis, Seattle

Outstanding Wine Program

• Davenport, Portland

Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Producer

• Dave Green, Skagit Valley Malting, Burlington, WA
• Mike Sauer, Red Willow Vineyard, Wapato, WA

Rising Star Chef of the Year

• Jay Blackinton, Aelder/Hogstone’s Wood Oven, Orcas Island, WA
• Shota Nakajima, Adana, Seattle

Best Chef: Northwest

• Jose Chesa of Ataula
• Peter Cho of Han Oak
• Logan Cox, Homer, Seattle
• Eric Donnelly, RockCreek, Seattle
• Gregory Gourdet of Departure
• Eric Johnson, Stateside, Seattle
• Ha (Christina) Luu and Peter Vuong of Ha VL
• Katy Millard of Coquine
• Kristen Murray of Maurice
• Colin Patterson, Mana Restaurant, Leavenworth, WA
• Ryan Roadhouse of Nodoguro
• Mutsuko Soma, Kamonegi, Seattle
• Brady Williams, Canlis, Seattle
• Justin Woodward of Castagna
• Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Keep in mind, these are the semifinalists. On March 27th, the list of finalists will be released, and the final results on May 6th. As these nominations are just a small number of the national list, it is possible Portland could be shut out entirely.

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