Here Are the Seattle Finalists for the 2015 James Beard Awards

This morning, the James Beard Foundation announced the final nominees for the 2015 James Beard Awards, narrowed down from the long list of semifinalists announced last month. And here's a big bummer: All of the Seattle and Washington state nominees in the nationwide categories have been eliminated.

But moving on to the Best Chef Northwest category, familiar names like Renee Erickson, Blaine Wetzel, and Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi are sticking around to compete with a couple of nominees from Portland:

Best Chef: Northwest Finalists

Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Ox, Portland, OR
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Lummi Island, WA
Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland, OR
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Local names popped up in the journalism and new media categories, too: ChefSteps is competing in the Video Webcast, Fixed Location and/or Instructional category and the Visual and Technical Excellence category. Molly Wizenberg's Orangette is nominated in the Individual Food Blog category, and Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Met picked up a nod for her captivating article detailing the history of Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony May 4 in Chicago. If you're interested in seeing the full list of nominees nationwide, Eater National has you covered.