The James Beard Awards are the Oscars of food. If you are nominated, the name “James Beard” will appear before yours in your own obituary; the only way out of this is by winning an actual Oscar.

Eleven Oregon chefs and restaurants were named semifinalists this morning. Finalists will be announced on April 3, and winners on June 10.

National Semifinalists 

The list is long with Portland institutions: Sarah Minnick, the vegetable whispering chef of Lovely’s Fifty Fifty (and a Netflix star), is up for the national Outstanding Chef Award. The Thai fine-dining pioneers at Langbaan, a decade on and now in their new west side digs, are up for the national Outstanding Restaurant award. Jinju, the North Portland bakery that’s been quietly turning out Paris-worthy croissants for as long as we can remember, is also recognized among Outstanding Bakeries. And Han Oak, the first of Peter Cho and Sun Young Park’s trio of Korean restaurants—known for supplying a good time, and even better food—got the nod for Outstanding Hospitality.

Hayward, the casual-presenting spot run by chef Kari Kihara inside McMinnville’s Mac Market, is up for the highly competitive Best New Restaurant award. And the city’s most refined wine bar OK Omens landed in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category—some much-deserved recognition, and a great sign after the heartbreaking closure of its sister tasting menu restaurant, Castagna, last year.

Regional Semifinalists 

Best Chef Northwest and Pacific is the tightest race among familiar names. Kann chef Gregory Gourdet is just off last year’s Best New Restaurant win and a 2022 Media Award for his cookbook Everyone’s Table. Matthew Lightner’s thrilling new McMinnville restaurant Okta, the most refined restaurant currently operating in Oregon, might stand in the way of Gourdet’s hat trick. Ryan Roadhouse, of long-time omakase pop-up-turned-restaurant Nodoguro, has more than a chance, too. (They’re in their post-COVID new digs off Sandy Boulevard.) We’re also thrilled to see Peter Vuong of Vietnamese soup haven Hà VL—your favorite chef’s favorite restaurant—on the list. His family’s soup empire recently expanded into its third location, Annam VL, on Southeast Belmont Street. And chef Josh Dorcak of the foraging-focused restaurant Mas, one of the New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants in America, could take home Best Chef Northwest.

Who Got Snubbed?

Though we're almost certain it will make the list in the coming years, Okta’s remarkable wine program isn't yet recognized. And we were holding out for Peter Cho and Sun Young Park’s newest restaurant Jeju, to get on that Best New Restaurant list. But the organization tends to spread the love around, and both spots were recognized in other categories. 

Other Pacific Northwest Nominees 

Outside of Oregon, Seattle had the biggest Pacific Northwest showing, with Archipelago chef Aaron Verzosa making the Outstanding Chef list for his Filipino take on fine dining; hi-lo fishing pub–styled restaurant The Walrus and the Carpenter for Outstanding Restaurant, in its 14th year of business; and Ben’s Bread Co. proprietor Ben Campbell for Outstanding Pastry chef.

What Happened Last Year? 

Portland dominated the 2023 awards, bringing home seven—more than any other city. Kann, chef Gregory Gourdet’s ode to Haiti, won the national Best New Restaurant award. Vince Nguyen of Berlu beat out fierce competition for Best Chef Northwest. Locals also collected a slew of media and leadership awards, including awards for cookbook author Hannah Che, Eater PDX editor Brooke Jackson-Glidden, podcast Copper & Heat, the union of Burgerville Workers, and a YouTube collaboration between Vietnamese pop-up Matta and digital media producers All the Homies Network.

Our newly minted restaurant of the year, Yaowarat, will have to hold out for next year’s ceremony: it opened in October, days after the deadline for this year’s awards.

What’s Next? 

The remaining semifinalists for achievement, media, and leadership awards will be announced over the coming months. From here, nominees will be assessed by no less than three judges—an upgrade that came about during the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion restructuring in 2020. As for us, we’ll be out eating and plotting our predictions until June.