Cordelia's Vinnie Cimino is Cleveland's Sole James Beard Awards Finalist
"Everybody is so excited to be in this position. It's amazing," says Cimino. The James Beard Awards has revealed its list of finalists, with only Cleveland chef-partner Vinnie Cimino making the cut. He is competing in the category of Best Chef: Great Lakes, alongside Jose Salazar from Mita's restaurant in Cincinnati, Sujan Sarkar from Indienne in Chicago, Jenner Tomaska from Esme in Chicago and Hajime Sato of Sozai in Clawson, Mich. The winner will be announced at the big gala in Chicago on June 10. This marks Cleveland's first winner since 2015.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Douglas Trattner in Lifestyle
This morning the James Beard Foundation released its list of James Beard Awards finalists, a roster that was trimmed down from the longer list of semifinalists that was released back in January. Cordelia chef-partner Vinnie Cimino has made the cut. He is the only representative from Cleveland.In the category of Best Chef: Great Lakes, Cimino is up against Jose Salazar from Mita's restaurant in Cincinnati, Sujan Sarkar from Indienne in Chicago, Jenner Tomaska from Esme in Chicago, and Hajime Sato of Sozai in Clawson, Mich.Reached by phone from Chicago, Cimino said, "It's been an exciting few months. We're still a really young restaurant and didn't expect to be in this position. You always hope and dream — especially this early on — but we have such an amazing group of people. Everybody is so excited to be in this position. It's amazing."We will find out who wins on June 10 at the big gala in Chicago.Cleveland has not had a winner since Jonathon Sawyer took honors in 2015. Before that, Michael Symon snagged the award in 2009.For the complete list of finalists, click here
Topics: Food & Drink