The list of Restaurant and Chef semifinalists for the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced today and are now available here. Check the website for the full list or see below for some categories. Here in Florida, California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Palme d’Or at Biltmore were nominated for outstanding wine service (Palme d'Or also won semifinalist for outstanding service). In the category of Best Chef in the South, our own Zach Gross of Z Grille in St. Petersburg, Derek Barnes of Derek’s Culinary Casual in Sarasota, Zach Bell of Café Boulud at the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach, Tom Gray at Bistro Aix in Jacksonville, Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Philip Krajeck of Fish Out of Water at WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach, Edgar Leal of Cacao Restaurant in Coral Gables, Dean James Max of 3030 Ocean in Fort Lauderdale, Douglas Rodriguez of Ola in Miami Beach, Jeanie Roland of The Perfect Caper in Punta Gorda (one of my faves), Philippe Ruiz of Palme d’Or at Biltmore in Coral Gables and Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami were semifinalists.

How the restaurant and chef awards work: The James Beard Foundation holds an online open call for entries beginning in mid-October of each year. This year more than 15,000 entries were received. The independent accounting firm, Lutz & Carr, tabulates these entries for the Restaurant and Chef Committee. Based on the results and eligibility requirements for each award, the committee then produces a nominating ballot that lists the 20 semifinalists in each of the 19 Restaurant and Chef awards categories, some of which include Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef in 10 different U.S. regions, Rising Star Chef of the Year, Outstanding Wine Service, and Best New Restaurant.   

The list of semifinalists is then sent to an independent volunteer panel of more than 400 judges from across the country (I'm one of these). It's food critics and such who vote on specific award categories to determine the final five nominees. The same judges then vote on these five nominees to select the winners. The governing Awards Committee, board of trustees, and staff of the James Beard Foundation do not vote, and the results are kept confidential until the presentation of winners at the Awards Ceremony in May.

OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR:   

• Ashok Bajaj, The Oval Room, The Bombay Club, Ardeo, Bardeo, 701, and Rasika, Washington, D.C.
• Tom Baron, Big Burrito Restaurant Group, Pittsburgh   
• Roger Berkowitz, Legal Sea Foods, Boston 
• Frank Bonanno, Mizuna, Luca D’Italia, and Osteria Marco, Denver 
• Jimmy Bradley, Red Cat Restaurants, NYC
• Larry D’Amico and Richard D’Amico, D’Amico & Partners, Minneapolis 
• Tom Douglas, Dahlia Lounge, Palace Kitchen, Etta’s, Lola, Serious Pie, and Dahlia Bakery, Seattle 
• Sam Fox, Fox Restaurant Concepts, Scottsdale , AZ 
• Jim Goode and Levi Goode, Goode Company Restaurants, Houston 
• Bill Higgins and Bill Upson, Real Restaurants, Sausalito, CA 
• Pano Karatassos, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Atlanta 
• Pat Kuleto, Pat Kuleto Restaurant Development & Management Co., San Francisco 
• Keith McNally, Balthazar, Schiller’s Liquor Bar, Pastis, Morandi, Lucky Strike, and Pravda, NYC 
• Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago 
• Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group, NYC 
• Dennis Quaintance, Nancy King Quaintance, and Mike Weaver, Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants, Greensboro, NC 
• Ralph Rubio, Rubio’s Restaurants, Carlsbad , CA 
• Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurant Organization, Philadelphia 
• Alan Stillman and Michael Stillman, Fourth Wall Restaurants, NYC 
• Doug Washington, Mitchell Rosenthal, and Steven Rosenthal, Town Hall, Salt House, and Anchor & Hope, San Francisco

OUTSTANDING CHEF:

• José Andrés, Minibar, Washington , D.C. 
• Dan Barber, Blue Hill, NYC 
• Tom Colicchio, Craft, NYC 
• Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles 
• Vincent Guerithault, Vincent on Camelback, Phoenix 
• Sam Hayward, Fore Street , Portland , ME 
• Jean Joho, Everest, Chicago 
• Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago 
• Barbara Lynch, No. 9 Park, Boston 
• Michael Mina, Michael Mina, San Francisco 
• Tamara Murphy, Brasa, Seattle 
• Scott Peacock, Watershed, Decatur, GA 
• Charles Phan, The Slanted Door, San Francisco 
• Stephan Pyles, Stephan Pyles, Dallas 
• Anne Quatrano, Bacchanalia, Atlanta 
• Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, MA 
• Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham , AL 
• Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia 
• Janos Wilder, Janos, Tucson, AZ 
• Michael Smith, Restaurant Michael Smith, Kansas City , MO

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT:

• Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu 
• Babbo, NYC 
• Bacchanalia, Atlanta 
• Bern ’s Steak House, Tampa, FL
• Blackbird, Chicago 
• Boulevard, San Francisco 
• Brigtsen’s, New Orleans 
• Delfina, San Francisco 
• Everest, Chicago 
• Fore Street, Portland, ME 
• Greens, San Francisco 
• Hamersley's Bistro, Boston 
• Higgins Restaurant and Bar, Portland, OR 
• Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL 
• Jean Georges, NYC 
• Kinkead’s, Washington, D.C. 
• Lucia’s Restaurant, Minneapolis 
• Magnolia Grill, Durham, NC 
• Sanford, Milwaukee 
• Vidalia, Washington, D.C.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

• Animal, Los Angeles 
• The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills , Los Angeles 
• Bottega, Yountville, CA 
• Camino, Oakland, CA 
• Cork , Washington, D.C. 
• Corton, NYC 
• Distrito, Philadelphia 
• Django, Des Moines, IA 
• Emilitsa, Portland, ME 
• Feast, Houston 
• Holeman and Finch Public House, Atlanta 
• Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA 
• Izakaya at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, NJ 
• L2O, Chicago 
• Merriman’s Kapalua, Maui, Lahaina, HI 
• Momofuku Ko, NYC 
• Noca, Phoenix 
• Palate Food & Wine, Glendale, CA 
• Poppy, Seattle 
• Raku, Las Vegas 
• Richard Chen Pittsburgh 
• Scarpetta, NYC 
• Spinasse, Seattle 
• Sra. Martinez, Miami
• Tei An, Dallas 
• Trattoria Lucca , Charleston, SC 
• Volt, Frederick, MD 
• Zahav, Philadelphia

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR:

• Nate Appleman, A16, San Francisco 
• Sean Brock, McCrady's, Charleston, SC 
• Aaron Deal, Tristan, Charleston, SC 
• Sonja Finn, Dinette, Pittsburgh 
• Evan Funke, Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen,  Santa Monica, CA 
• Vannessa Garcia, Restaurant Charlie at the Palazzo, Las Vegas 
• Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta 
• Will Gilson, Garden at the Cellar, Cambridge, MA
• Sarah Kosikowski, Michael Mina at Bellagio, Las Vegas 
• Jackson Kramer, Interim Restaurant & Bar, Memphis 
• Travis Lett, Gjelina, Venice, CA 
• Jonathan McDonald, Pub & Kitchen, Philadelphia 
• Johnny Monis, Komi , Washington, D.C. 
• Dave Racicot, Lautrec at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Farmington, PA 
• Charles “Chip” Roman, Blackfish, Conshohocken, PA 
• Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland , OR 
• Justin Schoville, Söntés, Rochester, MN 
• Ryan Skeen, Irving Mill, NYC 
• Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia 
• Sameh Wadi, Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, Minneapolis 
• Rachel Yang, Joule, Seattle 
• Sue Zemanick, Gautreau's, New Orleans