Although the restaurant industry is battling the severe challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, and many of the nominated restaurants are closed, Monday brought the news that several New Orleans restaurants are finalists for James Beard Awards.
The nominees were announced Monday by the James Beard Foundation, which also announced there will be no awards ceremony this year, as is tradition. Instead, winners will be revealed in a live online broadcast on Sept. 25.
Whittled down from a list of semifinalists announced earlier this year, the James Beard awards were originally slated to be presented today, May 4, at a gala event in Chicago.
New Orleans chef/restaurateur Donald Link is nominated for Outstanding Chef in the country, for the seventh year in a row. Also, his restaurant group's newest restaurant, Gianna, is nominated for best restaurant in America. The Link Restaurant Group's restaurant Peche is a past winner in this category.
JoAnn Clevenger, the longtime proprietor of Upperline and a previous James Beard nominee, has been once again nominated for outstanding restaurateur in America.
Graison Gill, founder of Bellegarde Bakery, is a nominee for Outstanding Baker in the country.
New Orleans chefs dominate the regional category of Best Chef: South this year. The nominees are Kristen Essig & Michael Stoltzfus of Coquette; Michael Gulotta of Maypop; Mason Hereford of Turkey and the Wolf and Isaac Toups of Toups Meatery. The only other nominee in the category is Jose Enrique of Puerto Rico. The category is open to restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Additionally, Bacchanal is nominated for outstanding wine program and Brigtsen's, the legendary eatery of Frank and Marna Brigtsen, is up for the award for outstanding hospitality.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, the James Beard Foundation has turned its attention to relief efforts, through the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund. To date, the fund has distributed more than $4 million to small, locally-owned restaurants nationwide.
"Some of the restaurants announced today are temporarily closed, some are operating in another form, such as take-out or meal relief efforts, whilst others have already announced that they will permanently close,” said James Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach in a statement. “Today we acknowledge the accomplishments of all the people behind these restaurants, and the need for everyone to fight for this industry that employs 16 million people and is a vital part of American culture."
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