Greenville restaurant, Travelers Rest pastry chef part of 2024 James Beard Award finalists

Two Greenville County restaurants are part of the 2024 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards finalist list.

The downtown restaurant Scoundrel and Chef Tania Cienfuegos Harris of Topsoil Kitchen & Market were nominated this month.

James Beard Awards, presented by Capitol One, will announce the nominees on April 3. Winners will be honored at a ceremony on June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Scoundrel, a French fine-dining restaurant located at 18 N. Main St., was nominated as a semifinalist for the Best New Restaurant category, competing against 29 other restaurants as the best in the country. In December 2023, Scoundrel was selected as one of the best new restaurants in America by Esquire Magazine.

"Getting that national nod is something special," Executive Chef Joe Cash said at the time. "The fact that my team and I work really hard every day to strive for something different and special. I think that is now being realized."

Chef Tania Cienfuegos Harris is the lone Greenville area chef nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. Cienfuegos Harris is currently the pastry chef at Topsoil Kitchen & Market, located at 13 S. Main St. in Travelers Rest, and is a 2019 South Carolina Chef Ambassador .

"This announcement was a big surprise," Cienfuegos Harris told the Greenville News. "I'm extremely honored and very proud."

She is joined by Remy Funfrock of La Pâtisserie, Charleston and nine other pastry chefs.

Additional James Beard Award Finalists from around South Carolina

Outstanding Restauranteur: Kimball Brienza and Stephen Palmer, O-Ku Sushi, Charleston.

Emerging Chef: Nikko Cagalanan, Charleston.

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: Lula Drake Wine Parlour, Columbia.

Outstanding Bar: Edmund's Oast, Charleston.

Best Chef: Southeast: Kitwanda “Kiki” Cyrus and Tyrone Cyrus, Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles, Columbia; Jacques Larson, The Obstinate Daughter, Sullivan’s Island; James London, Chubby Fish, Charleston;Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, Cayce.

The James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit organization that celebrates food, culture and people across America with more than 30 years of community-focused initiatives, food advocacy programs and awards that highlight the culinary arts across the country.

The full list of 2024 James Beard Award semifinalists can be found here.

– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Scoundrel, Tania Cienfuegos at Topsoil Kitchen are James Beard finalists