Here’s something to warm up Houston restaurant fans on the heels of another winter storm: there are several local James Beard Award semifinalists again this year. While it’s nearly inevitable that there will be few that make it through this phase to the finals, as always, it’s an honor just to be named. 

First, let’s dig into the national-level categories. These are some of the most prestigious — and competitive, as these pit local talent against other semifinalists across the nation. Itai Ben Eli and Itamar Levy of Sof Hospitality Group are up for Outstanding Restaurateur. They were up for the same award last year. Sof Hospitality Group owns Hamsa, Bādolina Bakery, and Doris Metropolitan — and recently added to its portfolio with Októ, which we named one of the Best New Restaurants of 2024.

In the same category, we’re thrilled to see some restaurateurs who have been taken a little for granted over the past few years: Sara and Martin Stayer who own Nobie’s, The Toasted Coconut and fun retro pizzeria Nonno’s. 

In the Emerging Chef category is someone few saw coming: Suu Khin of Burmalicious. As you can guess by the name, Khin specializes in heritage Burmese cuisine and was a runner-up in MasterChef Legends. You can try her cuisine at her next pop-up at Cucharita, located at 315 Fairview, on Friday, January 24 at 7 p.m. The pop-up will run until sell-out (which, considering the news, will likely happen very quickly, so we recommend you get there on time). 

Last year, Stephanie Velasquez of Ema was a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. This year, Ema itself is up for the Best New Restaurant award. We have to agree, as we also named this to our Best New Restaurants of 2024 list. (What can we say? We can pick ‘em.) 

Local pastry shop Koffeteria is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Bakery category. There, pastry chef and owner Vanarin Kuch informs all of his food creations with nods to his Cambodian heritage. 

In the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, chef Felipe Riccio’s tasting menu restaurant March is a semifinalist. Riccio’s business partner is Court of Masters master sommelier June Rodil. Riccio himself was a Best Chef semifinalist in 2022. 

Way back in 2021 when working on that year’s Best New Restaurants list, I felt the need to give a special nod to Court of Masters advanced sommelier Andres Blanco at Le Jardinier. He was simply a stand-out, and one of the most-fun parts of my visits to the newly Michelin-starred restaurant. I wrote, “I loved Blanco’s bubbling enthusiasm when discussing selections, whether it was Champagne (from France, of course) or Pinot Noir from Sonoma.” So, it makes complete sense to me that he is a semifinalist for the Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service category. 

That brings us to the Best Chef: Texas category, where Houston has had a strong showing for the past 11 years (if you include when Texas was part of the Southwest region). Two chefs are making repeat appearances as semifinalist: Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring and Emmanuel Chavez of Tatemó. Bille was a semifinalist in the same category last year, and Chavez made it to the finals. Additionally, in 2023, Tatemó was a nominee in the Best New Restaurant category. It lost to Kaan in Portland, Oregon. Will this finally be Chavez’s lucky year? We’ll have to wait and see.

 New to the semifinalists is David Skinner of Ishtia, Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu of Jūn (although the restaurant itself was a Best New Restaurant semifinalist last year), Ope Amosu of ChopnBlök (a semifinalist last year in the Emerging Chef category) and Beatriz Martines of Xalisko — a rare nod for a restaurant in The Woodlands. Both ChopnBlök and Ishtia were among our recent Best New Restaurant picks. 

Visit the James Beard Foundation website to see all of the semifinalists from across the nation. The nominees will be announced on Wednesday, April 2, and, as has been the case for the past several years, winners will be revealed at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on Monday, June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Editor’s note: we updated this article after publishing to add chef Henry Lu as a co-semifinalist for Best Chef Texas for his work at Jūn. 

Phaedra Cook

Phaedra Cook has written about Houston’s restaurant and bar scene since 2010. She was a regular contributor to My Table magazine (now closed) and was the lead restaurant critic for the Houston Press for two years, eventually being promoted to food editor. Cook founded Houston Food Finder in November 2016 and has been its editor and publisher ever since.