These Arizona restaurants, chefs are James Beard Award finalists in the 'Oscars' of food
The James Beard Awards — sometimes dubbed the "Oscars of food" — just announced its 2022 nominees, naming several Arizona restaurants and chefs as finalists.
The competition returns from a two-year absence after controversies tied to the 2020 competition, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry, led to the awards' cancellation.
Judges narrowed the list of final nominees from a group of semifinalists that included 15 restaurants and chefs in Arizona. The James Beard Foundation announced the nominees Wednesday morning at El Chorro, a historic restaurant in Paradise Valley that won the America's Classics award in 2005.
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Arizona's 2022 James Beard Award finalists
The Arizona nominees are:
Best New Restaurant: Bacanora in Phoenix.
Outstanding Baker: Don Guerra of Barrio Bread in Tucson.
Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Bianco of Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.
Best Chef — Southwest: Giovanni Scorzo of Andreoli Italian Grocer in Scottsdale.
The Southwest region encompasses chefs in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Believe the hype: Why Bacanora gets a 5-star review from The Arizona Republic
When will the James Beard Award Award winners be announced?
The James Beard Foundation will announce all the winners in the restaurant and chef categories on June 13 at a ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Chef and author Kwame Onwuachi is set to host the ceremony.
The foundation and awards are named after the late James Beard, a queer cooking icon whose face is engraved on the winners' medals. Beard was one of the first high-profile food personalities in America.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: James Beard Awards 2022: All the Arizona finalists
