A San Diego chef was among the culinary artisans nominated Wednesday for a coveted James Beard Award for top chef in California.
Tara Monsod of ANIMAE, 969 Pacific Highway, is one of five people nominated for the title of Best Chef: California by the James Beard Foundation, whose awards are considered the pinnacle of culinary achievement. Also nominated were Daniel Castillo of Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano, Jon Yao of Kato in Los Angeles, Richard Lee of Saison in San Francisco and Kosuke Tada of Mijoté, also in San Francisco.
Gusto Bread in Long Beach was nominated for outstanding bakery. It will compete with Atelier Ortega in Wyoming, JinJu Patisserie in Oregon, Starship Bagel in Texas and Super Secret Ice Cream in New Hampshire.
Tobin Shea of Redbird in Los Angeles was nominated for the prize of outstanding professional in cocktail service, a new category added by the foundation to this year's honors. Strong Water in Anaheim earned a nod for outstanding wine and other beverages program.
Winners of the coveted honors will be announced June 16 at a gala event in Chicago.
— Sue Chin and Jason Chin, Good Salt Restaurant Group (Seito Sushi, Reyes Mezcaleria, The Osprey, and others), Orlando, FL
— Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, The Fried Rice Collective (Anju, Chiko, and I Egg You), Washington, D.C.
— Allison Gibson and Cara Tobin, Honey Road and Gray Jay, Burlington, VT
— Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Veau d'Or, and Le Rock, New York, NY
— Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther, New York, NY
— Josh Niernberg, Bin 707, Grand Junction, CO
— Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, MA
— Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY
— Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
— Galit, Chicago, IL
— Nonesuch, Oklahoma City, OK
— Oberlin, Providence, RI
— Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia, PA
— Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence, RI
— Jane Sacro Chatham, Vicia, St. Louis, MO
— RJ Yoakum, Georgie, Dallas, TX
— Atoma, Seattle, WA
— Bûcheron, Minneapolis, MN
— Ema, Houston, TX
— Fet-Fisk, Pittsburgh, PA
— Mabo, Dallas, TX
— Mita, Washington, D.C.
— Ômo by Jônt, Winter Park, FL
— Penny, New York, NY
— The Union, Helena, MT
— Gusto Bread, Long Beach, CA
— JinJu Patisserie, Portland, OR
— Starship Bagel, Dallas and Lewisville, TX
— Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem, NH
— Cat Cox, Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa, OK
— April Franqueza, The Dining Room at High Hampton, Cashiers, NC
— Crystal Kass, Valentine, Phoenix, AZ
— Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos, Poulette Bakeshop, Parker, CO
— Aria, Atlanta, GA
— Atomix, New York, NY
— Harbor House Inn, Elk, CA
— Mixtli, San Antonio, TX
— Campo at Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
— Charleston, Baltimore, MD
— MARCH, Houston, TX
— Strong Water, Anaheim, CA
— Scotch Lodge, Portland, OR
— The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
— Water Witch, Salt Lake City, UT
— Wolf Tree, White River Junction, VT
— Bar Colette, Dallas, TX
— Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, PR
— Merai, Brookline, MA
— ViceVersa, Miami, FL
— Jose Medina Camacho, Adiõs, Birmingham, AL
— Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie's, Austin, TX
— Cassandra Felix, Daniel, New York, NY
— Cristie Norman, Delilah, Las Vegas, NV
— Ignacio "Nacho" Jimenez, Superbueno, New York, NY
— Dave Newman, Pint + Jigger, Honolulu, HI
— Tobin Shea, Redbird, Los Angeles, CA
— Mike Stankovich, Longfellow, Cincinnati, OH
— Richard Lee, Saison, San Francisco, CA
— Tara Monsod, ANIMAE, San Diego, CA
— Kosuke Tada, Mijoté, San Francisco, CA
— Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles, CA
— Brandon Edwin Chrostowski, CEO, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute
— Anthony Edwards Jr., CEO and Co-Founder, EatOkra
— Seanicaa Edwards Herron, Founder and Executive Director, Freedmen Heirs Foundation
— Dune Lankard, President and Founder, Native Conservancy
