Miami’s Chefs and Restaurants Named as James Beard Award 2017 Semifinalists

It’s that time of year again: award season. This morning the James Beard Foundation released its list of semifinalists for the 2017 Restaurant and Chef Awards and Miami has four nominations this year.

Getting a nod for Best Chef: South category is Deme Lomas from NIU Kitchen, while Alter’s Brad Kilgore got his second nomination for Rising Star of the Year. KYU got a nomination for Best New Restaurant, while Zak Stern of Zak the Baker got a nomination for Outstanding Baker.

A little further up the state, Palm Beach’s Clay Conley got a nomination for Best Chef: South, as did Ferrel Alvarez of Tampa’s Rooster & the Till, Kathleen Blake of Orlando’s The Rusty Spoon, Brandon McGlamery of Luma on Park in Winter Park and Christopher Ponte of Café Ponte in Clearwater. And rounding out the Florida list was a Best Restaurateur nod to Richard Gonzmart of Columbia Restaurant Group in Tampa

If you want to find out how the committee comes to their decisions, here's a little refresher. The James Beard finalists will be announced on March 15, before the winners are announced at the James Beard Awards Gala on May 1. Check out the full list of nominees here.