The James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards last week. These are some of the most coveted awards in the culinary universe. This year, the Boston area was well-represented.
Douglass Williams from Italian restaurant MIDA, with locations in Boston and in Newton, was nominated in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. Williams has been nominated as a Best Chef Northeast in the past. Cara Chigazola-Tobin and Allison Gibson from Honey Road and Gray Jay, Burlington, Vt., also earned a nomination.
Cassie Piuma from Sarma in Somerville is the only New England-area Outstanding Chef nominee. In the Outstanding Restaurant category, Havana in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Oberlin in Providence each snagged nominations. Nikhil Naiker from NIMKI, also in Providence, earned an Emerging Chef spot, as did Jason Eckerson and Kate Hamm from Fish & Whistle in Biddeford, Maine.
Best New Restaurant is always a must-watch category, and Jamie Bissonnette’s Downtown Crossing Korean restaurant, Somaek, made the cut. Also on the list: LUNE in Dennis Port, which transitioned from a tasting-menu pop-up to a permanent home last year.
New England was overlooked in the Outstanding Bakery category save for Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem, N.H. Brant Dadaleares from Gross Confection Bar in Portland, Maine, garnered an Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker nod. Persimmon in Providence and Taj Indian Cuisine in South Portland, Maine, are on the Outstanding Hospitality list.
The Oyster Club in Mystic, Conn., is an Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages nominee, while Wolf Tree in White River Junction, Vt., is an Outstanding Bar contender. That category is not to be confused with Best New Bar, where Equal Measure in Boston (from the Eastern Standard team) and Merai in Brookline (sibling to Thai standout Mahaniyom) make appearances. The Abbey in Brunswick, Maine, is also on the list.
Outstanding Beverage Professional nominations went to Mary Allen Lindemann at Coffee By Design in Portland, Maine, and Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale from The Koji Club in Brighton. Oscar Simoza from The Wig Shop in Boston is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service category along with Nathaniel Meiklejohn at The Jewel Box in Portland, Maine.
Last but not least: The Boston-area Best Chef Northeast semifinalists are John DaSilva, Chickadee, Boston; Conor Dennehy, Talulla, Cambridge; Valentine Howell, Black Cat, Jamaica Plain; Kwasi Kwaa, Comfort Kitchen, Boston; Rachel Miller, Nightshade Noodle Bar, Lynn; Erin Miller, Urban Hearth, Cambridge; and Michael Serpa, Select Oyster, Boston.
Outside metro Boston, the nominees are Robert Andreozzi, Pizza Marvin, Providence; Avery Buck, May Day, Burlington, Vt.; Subat Dilmurat, Jahunger, Providence; Lee Frank, Lee Frank’s, South Berwick, Maine; Michelle Greenfield, Allium Eatery, Westport, Conn.; Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence; Brian Lewis, The Cottage, Westport, Conn.; Charlie Menard, Canteen Creemee, Waitsfield, Vt.; Nicole Nocella, Stalk, Dover, N.H.; Nick Rabar, Honeybird Kitchen & Cocktails, East Providence; Jordan Rubin, Mr. Tuna, Portland, Maine; Jake Stevens, Leeward, Portland, Maine; and Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence.
Nominees are announced on Wednesday, April 2, and winners are announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com.
