No 3-peat for Houston in culinary Oscars: City's chefs shut out of finalist nominations

HOUSTON, Texas -- So much for a Houston three-peat in the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest category. On Wednesday, March 14, the Beard Foundation announced that no Houston chefs advanced as finalists for the award.

In addition, only one of the Houston nominees in the various national categories advanced. For the first time, Anvil Bar & Refuge is a finalist for Outstanding Bar Program.

It's a disappointing follow-up to the semifinalist announcement last month that included a record number of Houston chefs and restaurants, including first time semifinalists nominations for Ronnie Killen, Ryan Pera (Coltivare), Ross Coleman and James Haywood (Kitchen 713), and Trong Nguyen (Crawfish & Noodles). Pondicheri chef-owner Anita Jaisinghani had also been named a semifinalist.

For more on this story visit our partners at Culturemap.