Friday, April 17, 2009

2009 James Beard Award Nominations

The 2009 preliminary James Beard Award nominations are out, and eight Arizona restaurants, entrepreneurs, and chefs are sprinkled on the list.

Winners will be announced on May 4.

Three Arizonans are under consideration for Best Chef – Southwest. Two of them are repeats: Marc Ehrler (Ventana Room, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson) and Kevin Binkley (Binkley’s Restaurant, Cave Creek). Neither made the finals last year.

The newcomer is Beau MacMillan (Elements, Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa, Paradise Valley).

In the prestigious Outstanding Chef category are two Arizona legends, Janos Wilder (Janos, Tucson) and Vincent Guerithault (Vincent on Camelback).

Noca nabbed a spot on the very competitive Best New Restaurant list, and Kazimierz World Wine Bar is up for Outstanding Wine Service.

And Sam Fox has once again made the first cut for Outstanding Restaurateur, a category that salutes those who “set national standards in restaurant operations and entrepreneurship.”


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