Esteemed culinary arts nonprofit the James Beard Foundation announced on Wednesday the semifinalists for its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards, and a slew of Nashvillians were among those long-listed.
Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed landed among the Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurateur nominees for Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria. The trio of Tennessee State University alums kicked off their pizza empire in North Nashville roughly half a decade back, and has since expanded the chain to include locations in Memphis, Chattanooga, Atlanta and Sacramento.
Two Music City denizens made Beard’s carefully watched Best Chef: Southeast category, which considers candidates from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee. Bastion’s Josh Habiger is on that list, as is Locust’s Trevor Moran. Both chefs have received wide acclaim for their work in recent years. Locust was named Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year and the Scene’s Best Restaurant in 2022. Both chefs show up frequently in the Scene’s annual Best of Nashville issues.
Julio Hernandez of Maiz de la Vida
Elsewhere, Julio Hernandez was named in the Emerging Chef category for his Maiz de la Vida. Our own Kelsey Beyeler profiled Hernandez about a year back, detailing the Mexican American chef’s dedication to the traditional dough-making process known as nixtamalization.
And finally, the dessert course: Sensational pastry chef Noelle Marchetti was recognized in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category for her work at Yolan, where she’s known for creative concoctions like beet-custard tarts. Contributor Megan Seling profiled Marchetti in April of last year.
What's more, contributor Chris Chamberlain passes on the following: The Beards will be announcing the finalists for the Restaurant and Chef Awards, Leadership Award winners, and honorees for the Achievement Awards (Lifetime and Humanitarian of the Year recipients) live from Nashville on March 29, with its award ceremony to follow on June 5 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Locust
