12 NC chefs & restaurants — including 4 in Raleigh — are up for James Beard awards

Drew Jackson

The James Beard Foundation’s chef and restaurant semifinalists were announced Wednesday, and more North Carolina chefs and restaurants are up for national awards than ever before.

In all, North Carolina chefs, restaurants and bakeries snagged 12 total nominations, from the Southeast regional chef award, to national awards for hospitality and best new restaurant.

Raleigh chefs and restaurants netted four semifinalist nominations, including three restaurants up for major national awards. The restaurant Ajja from acclaimed chef Cheetie Kumar is a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in the Country.

The Raleigh cocktail and dessert bar Bittersweet earned its first ever James Beard attention as one of 20 semifinalists for Outstanding Bar.

Chef Scott Crawford’s flagship restaurant Crawford & Son is a semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality.

In the Best Chef: Southeast category, where North Carolina chefs vie against those in Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, Preeti Waas of Cheeni Indian Emporium grabbed a semifinalist mention for the second year in a row.

Finalists will be announced April 3 with winners named at a ceremony in Chicago on June 10.

Historically, North Carolina chefs have had a great deal of success in the James Beard awards, particularly when the competition includes foodie destinations like Charleston and Savannah and cities like Atlanta.

In the Triangle, winners for Best Chef: Southeast have included Ben Barker in 2000, Andrea Reusing in 2011 and Ashley Christensen in 2014. Karen Barker won Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2004, a national award and in 2019, Christensen took home Outstanding Chef, arguably the top competitive award given out by the James Beard Foundation.

The latest Triangle chef to win is Ricky Moore in 2022, earning Best Chef: Southeast for his hyper local Saltbox Seafood Joint.

Here are the 2024 North Carolina semifinalists:

Outstanding Chef

  • Dean Neff, Seabird in Wilmington

Outstanding Restaurant

  • The Market Place in Asheville

  • The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge Inn in Blowing Rock

Best New Restaurant

  • Ajja in Raleigh

Outstanding Bakery

  • Bobby Boy Bakeshop in Winston-Salem

Raleigh chef Scott Crawford’s flagship restaurants Crawford & Son is a semifinalist for the James Beard award for Outstanding Hospitality, a national award.
Raleigh chef Scott Crawford’s flagship restaurants Crawford & Son is a semifinalist for the James Beard award for Outstanding Hospitality, a national award.

Outstanding Hospitality

  • Crawford & Son in Raleigh

Outstanding Bar

  • Bittersweet in Raleigh

Best Chef: Southeast (competing with GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

  • Daryl Cooper and Oscar Johnson, Jimmy Pearls in Charlotte

  • Jamie Davis, The Hackney in Washington

  • Jason Sellers, Plant in Asheville

  • Kanlaya “Gun” Supachana, Dalaya Thai Cuisine in Sylva

  • Preeti Waas, Cheeni Indian Food Emporium in Raleigh

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