The James Beard Awards dropped its 2024 semifinalists Wednesday morning, with eight North Texas restaurants and chefs landing a spot on the coveted list.
Lucia‘s David Uygur is a semifinalist in the national Outstanding Chef category, and La Casita Bakeshop in Richardson made it in the Outstanding Bakery category for the second year in a row. Last year, Lucia was a finalist in Outstanding Restaurant, and La Casita advanced to become a finalist for Outstanding Bakery.
Gemma, which recently revamped its menu, was named a semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category.
In the Best Chef: Texas category, semifinalists include Misti Norris of Petra and the Beast, Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman of José, Regino Rojas of Purépecha, Arnulfo (Trey) Sánchez of Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q in Grapevine, and Rich Vana of The Heritage Table in Frisco. Quiñones-Pittman and Rojas were both semifinalists in this category last year. Round of applause, folks.
Eight semifinalists is quite a drop from last year’s whopping 15, which include the six North Texas restaurants and chefs that made it to the finalist round. None of them made it out with an award. With a few repeats in some of this year’s categories, maybe we’ll get a chance.
Finalists will be announced in April, and a ceremony will be held in Chicago in June to announce the winners. Check out the full list of semifinalists here, and the list of Texas semifinalists below:
Outstanding Restaurateur
Itai Ben Eli and Itamar Levy, Sof Hospitality Group, Houston, TX
Outstanding Chef
- David Kirkland and Ernest Servantes, Burnt Bean Co., Seguin, TX
- David Uygur, Lucia, Dallas, TX
Outstanding Restaurant
- Convenience West, Marfa, TX
- Mixtli, San Antonio, TX
- Nancy’s Hustle, Houston, TX
Emerging Chef
Ope Amosu, ChòpnBlọk, Houston, TX
Best New Restaurant
- Barbs-B-Q, Lockhart, TX
- Jūn, Houston, TX
- Ramen Del Barrio, Austin, TX
Outstanding Bakery
- La Casita Bakeshop, Richardson, TX
- Koffeteria, Houston, TX
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
- Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panadería, Austin, TX
- Stephanie Velasquez, Ema HTX, Houston, TX
Outstanding Hospitality
- Bludorn, Houston, TX
- Gemma, Dallas, TX
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Bufalina, Austin, TX
- Taconeta, El Paso, TX
Outstanding Bar
Las Ramblas, Brownsville, TX
Best Chef: Texas
- Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast, Spring, TX
- Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Canje, Austin, TX
- Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston, TX
- Mark Clayton, Squable, Houston, TX
- Christopher Cullum, Cullum’s Attaboy, San Antonio, TX
- Victoria Elizondo, Cochinita & Co., Houston, TX
- Geoff Ellis, Mum Foods Smokehouse & Delicatessen, Austin, TX
- Alexandra Gates, Cochineal, Marfa, TX
- Joseph Gomez, Con Todo, Austin, TX
- Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen, Curry Boys BBQ, San Antonio, TX
- Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin, Best Quality Daughter, San Antonio, TX
- Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, Birdie’s, Austin, TX
- Emiliano Marentes, Elemi, El Paso, TX
- Misti Norris, Petra & the Beast, Dallas, TX
- Fermín Nuñez, Suerte, Austin, TX
- Ana Liz Pulido, Ana Liz Taqueria, Mission, TX
- Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, José, Dallas, TX
- Regino Rojas, Purépecha, Dallas, TX
- Arnulfo Sánchez III, Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q, Grapevine, TX
- Rich Vana, The Heritage Table, Frisco, TX
Author
