Chef Tiffany Derry’s New DFW Restaurant Is a James Beard Award Semifinalist

Dallas-Fort Worth is well represented on the James Beard Awards’s semifinalist list for 2022. The list of nominees for the Oscars of the food world just dropped today, and Dallas chef Tiffany Derry received recognition in a national category.

The Top Chef celeb’s Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch is in the running for the Best New Restaurant of the year. She’s also a semifinalist for the new “Best Chef, Texas” category. At Roots Southern Table, Derry pays homage to food she grew up eating in Southeast Texas. Keep reading to see all the DFW nominees.

In the Best New Restaurant category:

• Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch, Texas

In the Outstanding Baker category:

• Maricsa Trejo, who creates pastries like churro cruffins at La Casita Bakeshop in Richardson

In the Outstanding Hospitality category:

• José, which specializes in modern, innovative Mexican cuisine

In the Outstanding Wine Program category:

• Sachet, a Mediterranean restaurant with an eco-friendly ethos

In the Outstanding Bar Program category:

• Las Almas Rotas, which is devoted to all things mezcal

In the Best Chef, Texas category are:

• Tiffany Derry of Roots Southern Table
• Matt McCallister of preservation-obsessed neighborhood restaurant Homewood
• Misti Norris of Petra & the Beast (a previous Restaurant of the Year nominee)
• Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman of José (an Eater Chef of the Year in 2018)
• Regino Rojas of acclaimed taqueria Revolver Taco Lounge
• Koji Yoshida of Ebesu Robata & Sushi in downtown Plano

This year will be the first time the James Beard Foundation will hand out awards for Texas chefs in their own category (previously, Texas chefs were grouped in the Southwest category). The foundation also recently implanted policy changes and the creation of an independent ethics committee, after waves of controversy including a canceled 2021 awards and a 2020 awards season that saw a lack of diversity among the winners and the inclusion of controversial chefs.

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards.

• Texas Will Get Its Very Own James Beard Awards Category
• All Coverage of James Beard Foundation Awards