As we told you back in January, Nashville pretty much cleaned up when it came to this year’s James Beard Chef and Restaurant Award semifinalist announcements. More than half a dozen culinary professionals from Music City have been nominated in the categories of Outstanding Restaurateurs, Best Chef: Southeast, Emerging Chef and Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, and now it’s almost time to see which of them advance to finalist status for 2023.
Our potential finalists are:
Outstanding Restaurateur: Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed with Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria
Emerging Chef: Julio Hernandez of Maiz de la Vida
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Noelle Marchetti of Yolan
Best Chef Southeast: Josh Habiger of Bastion
Best Chef Southeast: Trevor Moran of Locust
The good news is that Nashville will enjoy a home-field advantage as the James Beard Foundation is bringing its traveling road show to Nashville on Wednesday, March 29, at 9 a.m. at the Musicians’ Hall of Fame for the official announcement event. In addition to sharing the news about who has advanced to the next round, the JBF will also be revealing this year’s nods for Leadership Awards, Lifetime Achievement Awards and Humanitarian of the Year. 2023 Restaurateur nominees Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria will be handing out their delectable cinnamon rolls, and the Loveless Cafe will be serving biscuits and Biscuit Love will provide bonuts to keep the sugar and energy levels high that morning.
Of course, the James Beard Foundation is first and foremost a charitable foundation with a mission to support and recognize excellence within the culinary industry, so you know they won’t miss a chance to raise a little money for a good cause if they’re schlepping their show to Nashville. The evening before the big announcements, they will be holding a fundraising dinner named “Soundbites of Nashville” at the new Four Seasons Hotel in the Grand Ballroom.
To help out with the dinner, they have enlisted a host of local chefs who have either been nominated for or won Beard Awards in the past. Here’s the list of heavy hitters who will be sharing the Four Seasons kitchen for Soundbites:
James Beard Award winner Sean Brock of Audrey, The Continental, Joyland and June
James Beard Award winner Maneet Chauhan of Chauhan Ale and Masala House, Tansuo and The Mockingbird
Owner André Prince Jeffries of Prince’s Hot Chicken, JBF America’s Classics Award winner
James Beard Award nominee Philip Krajeck of Rolf & Daughters and Folk
2023 James Beard Award semifinalist Noelle Marchetti of Yolan
Pitmaster Pat Martin of Martin’s Bar-B-Que-Joint and Hugh-Baby’s BBQ & Burger Shop
2023 James Beard Award semifinalist Trevor Moran of Locust
James Beard Award nominee Julia Sullivan of Henrietta Red
James Beard Award semifinalist Vivek T. Surti of Tailor
Chef Aniello Turco of Mimo Restaurant and Bar
The dinner will begin at 6 p.m., and Laura Veltz will provide the entertainment as she shares the stories behind the hit songs that she has written for acts like Demi Lovato, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, Dierks Bentley and many others. Uncle Nearest is also kicking in a signature cocktail for the event.
Tickets for the dinner are $250 and are available at the Soundbites event website.
