Cincinnati comes up short (again) at the James Beard Awards

While beloved local chef Jose Salazar made it to the finals of 2024's James Beard Awards, he won't be bringing home any medals this year.

Salazar was beat out by chef Hajime Sato of Sozai restaurant in Clawson, Michigan, for Best Chef Great Lakes at the award ceremony, which took place on Monday night at the Lyric Opera House, in Chicago.

Since moving to Cincinnati from New York in 2008, Salazar has transformed the city's dining scene into something far more interesting and far more diverse than it's ever been. In 2013, he opened his first restaurant, Salazar (in Over-the-Rhine), followed by Mita's (Downtown), Goose & Elder (at Findlay Market) and Daylily, a New York-style bodega (in Columbia Tusculum).

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He has been named a semifinalist for the award six times and a finalist twice. Along with Sato, he was up against three other chefs in the Great Lakes category, including Vinnie Cimino, of Cordelia in Cleveland, Sujan Sarkar, of Indienne in Chicago, and Jenner Tomaska, of Esme in Chicago.

The award has proved elusive for Cincinnati-area chefs and restaurants, though the city has improved its chances in recent years. In 2023, three local chefs or restaurants were named finalists, including Salazar's Downtown restaurant, Mita's, for the most Outstanding Restaurant in the U.S., Jeffrey Harris's Nolia Kitchen for Best New Restaurant in the U.S., and Elaine Uykimpang Bentz for the most Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in the U.S.

The only local recipient of the James Beard Award is Camp Washington Chili, which received an America's Regional Classics Award in 2000.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: James Beard Awards results: Cincinnati comes up short (again)