Finalists for the 2011 James Beard Awards, the culinary world’s equivalent to the Oscars, have just been announced, and Arizona laid a giant goose egg. Again.
Kevin Binkley (left) of Binkley’s Restaurant in Cave Creek, Silvana Salcido Esparza (right) of Barrio Café in Phoenix and John Sharpe of the Turquoise Room in Winslow were among the 20 semifinalists for Best Chef Southwest, but neither made the cut to five finalists.
Others not making the jump from semifinalist to finalist:
- Andrew Ashmore of The Greene House and Greg LaPrad of Quiessence for Rising Star Chef
- Sam Fox for Outstanding Restaurateur
- Mark Tarbell of Tarbell’s for Outstanding Wine Service
- Vincent Guerithault for Outstanding Restaurant
- Janos Wilder for Outstanding Chef
James Beard Award winners will be announced May 9.
James Beard Foundation [website]
