3 Minneapolis chefs, 1 restaurant named as James Beard Award finalists
One Minneapolis restaurant and three chefs have been named as finalists for this year's prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards.
The James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday it has whittled down its semifinal shortlist ahead of the awards ceremony on June 13.
Among the national award nominees is Owamni, the Warehouse District restaurant specializing in Indigenous cuisine that was opened last year by "The Sioux Chef" Sean Sherman, which is in the running for Best New restaurant.
Sherman is also among the nominees for Best Chef: Midwest.
Joining him in the running for the regional award is Jorge Guzmán, head chef of Petite León in the Kingfield neighborhood, and Yia Vang, head chef of Union Hmong Kitchen, which can be found at the Graze food hall near Target Field.
Related: The 10 best restaurants in the Twin Cities area, according to OpenTable diners
There is no place in the Outstanding Restaurateur category for semifinalist Kim Bartmann, whose nomination proved to be controversial as she was the subject of a state investigation for not paying her staff overtime wages following the onset of the pandemic.
Other semifinalists that didn't make the final cut were Union Hmong Kitchen in the Best New Restaurant category, and Erik Skaar of Vann, in Spring Park, in the Best Chef: Midwest category.
