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The James Beard Foundation has revealed its list of finalists for the 2019 James Beard Awards, also known as the “Oscars of food,” and zero Dallas chefs made the cut.
At a press conference in Houston, none of the three semifinalists from Dallas in the Best Chef - Southwest category were announced as finalists, and chef Misti Norris’s Petra and the Beast did not end up on the list of finalists for Restaurant of the Year. Despite having more nominees this year, the outcome is exactly the same as last year — Dallas will not be represented at the 2019 James Beard Awards.
Back in February, when the James Beard Awards’s long list of semifinalists was released, it brought hope that Dallas’s flourishing culinary scene would finally receive some much-deserved, arguably overdue attention. Misti Norris’s nod for Petra and the Beast was significant, and Bullion’s Riccardo “Ricchi” Sanchez was a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Neither advanced to the list of finalists.
In the regional Best Chef - Southwest category, which includes nominees from Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, Bullion’s Bruno Davaillon, Regino Rojas of Revolver Taco Lounge, and Lucia chef David Uygur were among the semifinalists. That’s a pretty dramatic increase from 2018, when Rojas was the sole name from Dallas on the list of semifinalists and zero chefs or restaurants from Dallas were among the finalists.
The winners of the 2019 James Beard Awards will be announced on May 6 in Chicago, but none of them will be from Dallas.
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards.
