Here Are the 2019 James Beard Award Semifinalists for Seattle

The semifinalists for the 2019 James Beard Foundation awards were announced this morning and several Seattle chefs and restaurants made the cut. With the semifinalist announcement today, judges and committee members will now vote to pare the list down to five finalist nominees per category; that list will be announced in Houston on March 27. The final winners will be announced on May 6 in Chicago, while the media award winners will be unveiled on April 26.

Last October, the foundation changed its policies with a goal of diversifying the decision makers and award winners. The makeup of its awards committees mirror U.S. census demographics for the first time.

View the full semifinalist list over here; meanwhile, here are the Seattle and Washington state names who are in the running.

Best New Restaurant

• Sawyer, Seattle

Outstanding Baker

• Kit Schumann and Jesse Schumann, Sea Wolf Bakers, Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program

• No Anchor, Seattle

Outstanding Chef

• Renee Erickson of Bateau, Seattle
• Shiro Kashiba, Sushi Kashiba, Seattle

Outstanding Pastry Chef

• Junko Mine, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Restaurant

• Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Ethan Stowell, Ethan Stowell Restaurants, Seattle (Ballard Pizza Co., Bramling Cross, Cortina, and others)

Outstanding Service

• Canlis, Seattle

Outstanding Wine Program

• L’Oursin, Seattle

Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Producer

• Dave Green, Skagit Valley Malting, Burlington, WA
• Mike Sauer, Red Willow Vineyard, Wapato, WA
• Mhairi Voelsgen, broVo Spirits, Woodinville, WA

Rising Star Chef of the Year

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

Best Chef: Northwest

• Logan Cox, Homer, Seattle
• Eric Donnelly, RockCreek, Seattle
• Eric Johnson, Stateside, Seattle
• Taichi Kitamura, Sushi Kappo Tamura, Seattle
• Colin Patterson, Mana Restaurant, Leavenworth, WA
• Mutsuko Soma, Kamonegi, Seattle
• Brady Williams, Canlis, Seattle
• Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards.