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As a Top Chef chef alum, Tiffany Derry is used to competition, and today the Dallas chef and her new restaurant Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch both move on to the next stage of the 2022 James Beard Awards.
The food foundation announced the list of finalists today via Twitter, and Derry is included in two categories. She's in the running for Best Chef, Texas, and Roots Southern Table is included in a national category as one of the best new restaurants in the country. At Roots Southern Table, Derry puts a creative spin on the Southern-inflected flavors she grew up with in Southeast Texas, whether that’s through crab-laden gumbo or jerk lamb chops.
The winners will be announced during a ceremony in Chicago on June 13. Derry and her restaurant Roots Southern Table are DFW’s sole showing in the list of finalists: none of nine other semifinalists from the Dallas area are included in the next round.
Best New Restaurant: Angry Egret Dinette, Bacanora, BARDA, Dhamaka, @HornBarbecue, Kasama, Leeward, @Owamni, @OYSTEROYSTERDC, @RootsSouthTable, and Ursula #jbfa
— James Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) March 16, 2022
Best Chef Texas: @MasterChefTD, @theblindcook and Tony J. Nguyen, Quy Hoang, @chefstevemchugh, and Iliana de la Vega #jbfa
— James Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) March 16, 2022
In February when the semifinalist list for 2022 dropped, Derry wrote on Instagram:
I am so grateful to all the folks who continue to show up and show out!!
#rootssoutherntable was nominated for Best New Restaurant my dream is nominated OMG!! We are not only in one category but two, a semi finalist for Best Chef Texas.
After the last few years we have had this a light for our path. I am incredibly proud of our team!!
This is the first time the James Beard Foundation is grouping Texas chefs in their own category instead of in the Southwest category. This year’s awards goes on after a spate of controversies, including lack of diversity in the nominees and canceled seasons.
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards.
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