Three Nashville Chefs and One Bar Receive Beard Semifinalist Nods

In 2020 — during the height of the national conversation about racism in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing, the #MeToo movement and COVID shutdowns — the James Beard Awards announced that they were suspending their culinary awards. Beard organizers said they were taking a hard look at the program and whether they should even be recognizing chefs and restaurants during that tremendously difficult period. The organization spent more than a year revamping the nomination and selection procedures to place greater emphasis on whether nominees align with the stated values of the competition, and to seek more diversity and inclusiveness in the roster of nominees.

Today marks the first announcement of a new set of nominees since the shutdown, and local chefs and a Nashville outpost of an NYC-based bar are finding themselves in the spotlight. Tennessee is part of James Beard's Southeast Region, which also includes Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia and the Carolinas, so there’s some pretty impressive competition out there to become one of the 20 semifinalists. That list will be whittled down through another round of voting to finalists, and then the eventual winner.

Chef Philip Krajeck of Folk and Rolf & Daughters is the only repeat nominee of the local trio, having earned multiple nods in the past for his previous work in Nashville and Florida. Through the years, the Beard Awards have been known for having a bit of a “wait your turn” attitude, wherein chefs languished on the list for several years before eventually winning the big awards. But with the recent changes, who knows?

Newcomers to the semifinalist list include Jake Howell — who I thought was more of an insiders’ secret for his excellent work at East Nashville’s Peninsula, where he cooks amazing Iberian cuisine in a kitchen that isn’t much bigger than the one in my first apartment out of college. Often, a Beard nomination can cause a relatively obscure restaurant to blow up with popularity, so if you want to enjoy Howell’s food, you might want to get in there soon!

California transplant Mailea Weger also earned recognition as a semifinalist for her inventive wine bar/all-day cafe Lou, where she offers small shareable plates inspired by California cuisine and Old World European cooking techniques. It’s great to see the Beard committee paying attention to smaller restaurants like Peninsula and Lou when they consider all the great food in Nashville.

The James Beard Foundation also hands out national awards for Best Bar Program, and Attaboy in East Nashville is nominated — which is a bit of a surprise since much of the national food media is based in New York, and that’s where the original Attaboy is located. Kudos to our hometown outpost of the bar group, which is often recognized on lists of best bars in the world. Attaboy Nashville has been through a lot since 2020, taking a hit from the East Nashville tornado and losing two beloved employees in the storm, the only fatalities in Davidson County. Building repairs and COVID kept them shut down for a long time, but this nomination only proves that they have come back better than ever.

Best of luck to all the Nashville nominees in progressing to the next round!